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Chap. __!_.._ Copyright No. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



CATHERINE OWEN'S 



NEW COOK BOOK 



BY 

CATHERINE OWEN 

(Mrs. ''Nitsch) 

A" • _ 



MOUNT VERNON. N. Y., 
HOUSEHOLD ECONOMICS CO. 



15164 



Litora. 



Two t:...prh:.. f<fxf(/£o 

JUL 5 1900 I 

OROLK Oiy)SK)N, 

JUL 6 1900 



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64898 

Copyright, 1885, 
By O. M. DUNHAM. 



Copyright, 1900, 
By GEORGE P. CASTLE. 



PEEFACE TO :NEW EDITIOK 



I HAVE endeavored in this book to help inexperienced 
housekeepers in the difficulties they find in using even 
the best recipes without some knowledge of cooking. 
In response to a general demand for more recipes than 
were included in the work as originally issued, I have 
prepared the present edition to supply the deficiency. 
In the additions, I have tried, not so much to give a 
great many recipes, as to give the best I know of each 
kind, all tested by myself, and to give them so explicitly 
that they can be easily practised. Where there are 
many ways of cooking one thing I have given two 
recipes, one, the finest I know, and one more simple. 

The Author. 



m 



PEEFAOE. 



I HAVE endeavored to set forth in this little book : that 
cooking and cultivation are by no means antagonistic. 
"Who does not remember with affectionate admiration 
Charlotte Bronte taking the eyes out of the potatoes 
stealthily, for fear of hurting the feelings of her pur- 
blind old servant; or Margaret Fuller shelling peas? 

The chief difficulty, I fancy, with women trying 
recipes is, that they fail and know not why they fail, 
and so become discouraged, and this is where I hope to 
step in. But although this book does not deal chiefly 
with recipes, I shall yet give a few; but only when they 
are, or I believe them to be, better than those in general 
use, or good things little known, or supposed to belong 
to the domain of a French clief^ of which I have intro- 
duced a good many. Should I succeed in making 
things that were obscure before clear to a few women, I 
shall be as proud as was Mme. de Genlis when she 
boasts in her Memoirs that she has taught six new dishes 
to a German housewife. Six new dishes! When 
Brillat-Savarin says: "He who has invented one new 
dish has done more for the pleasure of mankind than 
he who has discovered a star.'' 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PA6B 

Preliminary remarks ^ 

CHAPTER II. 

ON BREAD. 

Sponge for bread.— One cause of failure.— Why home-made 
bread often has a hard crust.— On baking.— Ovens.— More 
reasons why bread may fail to be good.— Light rolls.— 
Rusks.— Kreuznach horns.— Kringles.— Brioche (Paris 
Jockey Club recipe).— Souflee bread.— A novelty 13 

CHAPTER III. 

PASTRY. 

Why you fail in making good puff paste.— How to succeed.— 
How to handle it.— To put fruit pies together so that the 
syrup does not boil out.— Ornamenting fruit pies.— Risso- 
lettes.— Pastry tablets.— Frangipane tartlets.— Rules for 
ascertaining the heat of your oven 

CHAPTER IV. 

WHAT TO HAVE IN YOUR STORE-ROOM. 

Mushroom powder (recipe).— Stock to keep, or glaze (recipe). 
—Uses of glaze.— Glazing meats, hams, tongues, etc.— 
Maitre d'hotel butter (recipe).— Uses of it.— Ravigotte or 
MontpelHer butter (recipe).— Uses of it.— Roux.— Blanc 
(recipes).— Uses of both.— Brown flour, its uses 38 

vii 



33 



yiii Contents, 

CHAPTER V. 

LUNCHEONS. 

PAGE 

Remarks on what to have for hmcheons.— English meat pies.— 
Windsor pie.— Veal and ham pie.— Chicken pie.— Raised 
pork pie.— (Recipes).— Ornamenting meat pies.— Galan- 
tine (recipe).— Fish in jelly.— Jellied oysters.— A new- 
mayonnaise luncheon for small families.— Potted meats 
(recipes).- Anchovy butter. — A new omelet. — Potato 
snow. — Lyonnaise potatoes 35 

CHAPTER VI. 

A CHAPTER ON GENERAL MANAGEMENT IN YERY SMALL FAMILIES. 

How to have littJe dinners.— Hints for bills of fare, etc.— Filet 
de bceut Chateaubriand (recipe).— What to do with the 
odds and ends.— Various recipes.— Salads.— Recipes 47 

CHAPTER VII. 

FRYING. 

Why you fail. — Panure or bread-crumbs, to prepare. — How to 
prepare flounders as filets de sole. — Fried oysters. — To 
clarify dripping for frying.— Remarks. — Pate a frire a la 
Careme. — Same, a la Proven^ale. — Broiling 55 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Roasting 62 

CHAPTER IX. 

BOILING AND SOUPS. 

Boiling meat. — Rules for knowing exactly the degrees of boil- 
ing. — Vegetables. — Remarks on making soup. — To clear 
soup. — Why it is not clear. — Coloring pot-au-feu.— Con- 
somme. — Creme de celej'i, a little known soup. — Recipes. . 65 



Contents, ix 

CHAPTER X. 

SAUCES. 

Remarks on making and flavoring sauces. — Espagnole or 
brown sauce as it should be. — How to make fine white 
sauce 'j'Q 

CHAPTER XI. 

WARMING OVER. 

Remarks. — Salmi of cold meats.— Boeuf a la jardiniere.^ 
Boeuf au gratin.— Pseudo-beefsteak.— Cutlets a la jar- 
diniere.— Cromesquis of lamb.— Sauce piquant. —Miroton 
of beef.— Simple way of warming a joint.— Breakfast dish. 
—Stuffed beef.— Beef olives.— Chops a la poulette.— 
Devils.— Mephistophelian sauce. —Fritadella, twenty re- 
cipes in one i^q 

CHAPTER XII. 

ON FRIANDISES. 

Biscuit glacee at home (recipes).— Iced souffles (recipes).— Baba 
and syrups for it (recipe).— Savarin and synip (recipes).— 
Bouchees de dames.— How to make Cura^oa.— Maraschino. 
— ^Noyeau g^ 

CHAPTER XIII. 

FRENCH CANDIES AT HOME. 

How to make them.— Fondants.— Vanilla.— Almond cream.— 
Walnut cream.— Tutti frutti.— Various candies dipped 
in cream.— Chocolate creams.— Foudant panache.— Punch 
drops 91 

CHAPTER XIV. 

FOR PEOPLE OF VERY SMALL MEANS. 

Remarks.— What may be made of a soup bone.— Several very- 



economical dishes.— Pot roasts. — Dishes requiring no 
meat 



96 



X Contents^ 

CHAPTER XV. 

PAGE 
A FEW THINGS IT IS WELL TO REMEMBER 105 

CHAPTER XVI. 

On SOME TABLE PREJUDICES 108 

CHAPTER XVn. 

A CHAPTER OF ODDS AND ENDS. 

Altering recipes.— How to have tarragon, burnet, etc. — Re- 
marks on obtaining ingredients not in common use. — An 
impromptu salamander. — Larding needle. — How to have 
parsley fresh all winter without expense. — On having 
kitchen conveniences. — Anecdote related by Jules Gouffee. 
—On servants in America. — A little advice by way of 
valedictory Ill 

CHAPTER XVni. PAGE 

Breakfast breads 11& 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Omelettes 124 

CHAPTER XX. 
General instructions 136 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Forcemeats — stuffing 131 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Vegetables 134 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Soups 140 



Contents. xi 

CHAPTER XXIV. ^^ge 

Fish 150 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Entrees 157 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Roasts 178 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
Poultry 184 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Game 191 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Salads ; 196 

CHAPTER XXX. 
Boiled puddings of all kinds 201 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
Pies, tarts and sweet omelettes 208 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
Dishes for cheese course, or supper 216 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
Sauces, savory and sweet c . 219 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 
Cakes 233 



CATHERINE OWEN'S 

NEW COOK BOOK. 



CHAPTER 1. 

A FEW PRELIMIiTARY REMARKS. 

Alexandre Dumas, juere, after writing five himdred 
novels, says, "' I wisli to close my literary career with a 
book on cooking." 

And in the hundred pages or so of preface — or perhaps 
overture would be the better word, since m it a group 
of literary men, while contributing recondite recipes, 
flourish trumpets in every key — to his huge volume he 
says, '*Iwish to be read by people of the world, and 
practiced by people of the art " {gens de Vart) ; and al- 
though I wish, like every one who writes, to be read by 
all the world, I wish to aid the practice, not of the pro- 
fessors of the culinary art, but those whose aspirations 
point to an enjoyment of the good things of life, but 
whose means of attaining them are limited. 

There is a great deal of talk just now about cooking ; 
in a lesser degree it takes its place as a popular topic 
with ceramics, modern antiques, and household art. The 
fact of it being in a mild way fashionable may do a lit- 
tle good to the eating world in general. And it may 
make it more easy to convince young women of refined. 
1 1 



:2 Culture and Cooking. 

proclivities that the art of cooking is not beneath their 
attention, to know that the Queen of Enghind's daugh- 
ters — and of course the cream of the London fair — have 
attended the lectures on the subject delivered at South 
Kensington, and that a young lady of rank, Sir James 
Coles's daughter, has been recording angel to the asso- 
ciation, is in fact the E. C. 0. who edits the *' Official 
Handbook of Cookery." 

But, notwithstanding all that has been done to popu- 
larize the culinary art, one may go into a dozen houses, 
and find the ladies of the family with sticky fingers, 
scissors, and gum pot, busily porcelainizing clay jars, 
and not find one where they are as zealously trying to 
work out the problems of the "Official Handbook of 
Cookery." 

I have nothing to say against the artistic distractions 
of the day. Anything that will induce love of the beau- 
tiful, and remove from us the possibility of a return to 
the horrors of hair-cloth andbrocatel and crochet tidies, 
will be a stride in the right direction. But what I do 
protest against, is the fact, that the same refined girls 
and matrons, who so love to adorn their houses that they 
will spend hours improving a pickle jar, mediaevalizing 
their furniture, or decorating the dinner service, wull 
shirk everything that pertains to the preparation of food 
as dirty, disagreeable drudgery, and sit down to a com- 
monplace, ill-prepared meal, served on those artistic 
plates, as complacently as if dainty food were not a re- 
finement ; as if heavy rolls and poor bread, burnt or 
greasy steak, and wilted potatoes did not smack of the 
shanty, just as loudly as coarse crockery or rag carpet — 
indeed far more so ; the carpet and crockery may be due 



A Few Preliminary Remarks. 3 

to poverty, but a dainty meal or its reverse will speak 
volumes for innate refinement or its lack in the woman 
who serves it. You see by my speaking of rag carpets 
and dainty meals in one breath, that I do not consider 
good things to be the privilege of the rich alone. 

There are a great many dainty things the household 
of small or moderate means can have just as easily as 
the most wealthy. Beautiful bread — light, white, crisp 
— costs no more than the tough, thick-crusted boulder, 
with cavities like eye-sockets, that one so frequently 
meets with as liome-made tread. As Hood says: 

" Who has not met with home-made bread, 
A heavy compound of putty and lead ?" 

Delicious coffee is only a matter of care, not expense — 
and indeed in America the cause of poor food, even in a 
boarding-house, is seldom in the quality of the articles 
so much as in the preparation and selection of them — 
yet an epicure can breakfast well with fine bread and 
butter and good coffee. And this leads me to another 
thing : many people think that to give too much atten- 
tion to food shows gluttony. I have heard a lady say 
with a tone of virtuous rebuke, when the conversation 
turned from fashions to cooking, ^^ I give very little time 
to cooking, we eat to live only " — which is exactly what 
an animal does. Eating to live is mere feeding. Brillat- 
Savarin, an abstemious eater himself, among other witty 
things on the same topic says, '^ V animal se repait, 
Tliomme mange, Vliomme d'' esprit seul salt manger." 

Nine people out of ten, when they call a man an 
epicure, mean it as a sort of reproach, a man who is 
averse to every-day food, one whom plain fare would 
fail to satisfy ; but Grimod de la Reyniere, the most eel- 



4 Culture and Cooking, 

ebrated gourmet of his day, author of ''Almanack des 
Gourmands, " and authority on all matters culinary of the 
last century, said, ^' A true epicure can dine well on one 
dish, provided it is excellent of its kind." Excellent, 
that is it. A little care will generally secure to us the 
refinement of having only on the table what is excellent 
of its kind. If it is but potatoes and salt, let the salt be 
ground fine, and the potatoes white and mealy. Thack- 
eray says, an epicure is one who never tires of brown 
bread and fresh butter, and in this sense every New 
Yorker who has his rolls from some favorite hotel, and 
uses Philadelphia butter, is an epicure. There seems to 
me, more mere animalism in wading through a long 
bill of fare, eating three or four indilferently cooked 
vegetables, fish, meat, poultry, each second-rate in qual- 
ity, or made so by bad cooking, and declaring that you 
have dined well, and are easy to please, than there is in 
taking pains to have a perfectly broiled chop, a fine po- 
tato, and a salad, on which any true epicure could dine 
well, while on the former fare he would leave the table 
hungry. 

Spenser points a moral for m,e when he says, speaking 
of the Irish in 1580, '' That wherever they found a plot 
of shamrocks or water-cresses they had a feast ;" but there 
were gourmets even among them, for "some gobbled 
the green food as it came, and some picked the faultless 
stalks, and looked for the bloom on the leaf." 

Thus it is, when I speak of "good living," I do not 
mean expensive living or high living, but living so that 
the table may be as elegant as the dishes on which it is 
served. 

I believe there exists a feeling, not often expressed per- 
haps, but prevalent among young people, that for a lady 



A Few Prelimmary Remarks, e 

to cook with her own hands is yulgar; to love to do it 
shows that she is of low intellectual caliber, a sort of 
drawing-room Bridget. When or how this idea arose it 
would be difficult to say, for in the middle ages cooks 
were often noble ; a Montmorency was clief de cuisine to 
Philip of Valois ; Montesquieu descended, and was not 
ashamed of his descent, from the second cook of the 
Connetable de Bourbon, who ennobled him. And from 
Lord Bacon, ^^ brightest, greatest, meanest of mankind," 
who took, it is said, great interest in cooking, to Talley- 
rand, the Machiavelli of France, who spent an hour every 
day with his cook, we find great men delighting in the 
art as a recreation. 

It is surprising that such an essentially artistic people 
as Americans should so neglect an art which a great 
French writer calls the ''science mignonne oi all dis- 
tinguished men of the world." Napoleon the Great so 
fully recognized the social value of keeping a good table 
that, although no gourmet himself, he wished all his 
chief functionaries to be so. ^^Keep a good table," he 
told them; ^^f you get into debt for it I will pay." 
And later, one of his most devoted adherents, the Mar- 
quis de Cussy, out of favor with Louis XVIII. on 
account of that very devotion, found his reputation as 
a gourmet very serviceable to him. A friend applied 
for a place at court for him, which Louis refused, till he 
heard that M. de Cussy had invented the mixture of 
cream, strawberries, and champagne, when he granted 
the petition at once. ISTor is this a solitary instance in 
history where culinary skill has been a passport to for- 
tune to its possessor. Savarin relates that the Cheva- 
lier d'Aubigny, exiled from France, was in London, in 
utter poverty, notwithstanding which, by chance, he was 



6 Culture and Cookmg. 

invited to dine at a tavern frequented by the young bucks 
of that day. 

After he had finished his dinner, a party of young 
gentlemen, who had been observing him from their table, 
sent one of their number with many apologies and ex- 
cuses to beg of him, as a son of a nation renowned for 
their salads, to be kind enough to mix theirs for them. 
He complied, and while occupied in making the salad, 
told them frankly his story, and did not hide his pov- 
erty. One of the gentlemen, as they parted, slipped a 
five-pound note into his hand, and his need of it was so 
great that he did not obey the prompting of his pride, 
but accepted it. 

A few days later he was sent for to a great house, and 
learned on his arrival that the young gentleman he had 
obliged at the tavern had spoken so highly of his salad 
that they begged him to do the same thing again. A 
very handsome sum was tendered him on his departure, 
and afterwards he had frequent calls on his skill, until 
it became the fashion to have salads prepared by d'Au- 
bigny, who became a well-known character in London, 
and was called '^ tlie fashionable salad-maher.'^ In a few 
years he amassed a Uxrge fortune by this means, and 
was in such request that his carriage would drive from 
house to house, carrying him and his various condiments 
— for he took with him everything that could give 
variety to his concoctions — from one place, where his 
services were needed, to another. 

The contempt for this art of cooking is confined to this 
country, and to the lower middle classes in England. By 
the ** lower middle classes" I mean, what Carlyle terms 
thegigocracy— ?'.e., people sufiiciently well-to-do to keep a 
gig or phaeton — well-to-do tradesmen, small professional 



A Few Preliminary Remarks. y 

men, the class whose womenkind would call themselves 
*^ genteel," and many absurd stories are told of the 
determined ignorance and pretense of these would-be 
ladies. But in no class above this is a knowledge of 
cooking a thing to be ashamed of ; in England, indeed, 
so far from that being the case, indifference to the sub- 
ject, or lack of understanding and taste for certain dishes 
is looked upon as a sort of proof of want of breeding. 
Not to like curry, macaroni, or parmesan, jy^i^ de fois 
gras, mushrooms, and such like, is a sign that you have 
not been all your life accustomed to good living. Mr. 
Hardy, in his " Pair of Blue Eyes," cleverly hits this 
prejudice when he makes Mr. Swancourt say, ''I knew 
the fellow wasn't a gentleman; he had no acquired tastes, 
never took Worcestershire sauce." 

But it is in graceful, refined France that cookery is 
and has been, a pet art. Any bill of fare or French 
cookery book will betray to a thoughtful reader the at- 
tention given to the subject by the wittiest, gayesb, and 
most beautiful women, and the greatest men. The high- 
sounding names attached to French standard dishes are 
no mere caprice or, homage of a French cook to the great in 
the land, but actually point out their inventor. Thus 
Bechamel was invented by the Marquis de Bechamel, as 
a sauce for codfish ; while Filets de Lapereau a la 
Berry were invented by the Duchess de Berry, daughter 
of the regent Orleans, who himself invented Pam a la 
d' Orleans, while to Richelieu we are indebted for hun- 
dreds of dishes besides the renowned mayonnaise. 

Cailles a la Mirepois, Chartreuse a la Mauconseil, 
Poidets a la Villeroy, betray the tastes of the three great 
ladies whose name they bear. 

But not in courts alone has the art had its devotees. 



8 Culture and Cooking, 

Almost every great name in French literature brings to 
mind something its owner said or did about cooking. 
Dumas, who was a prince of cooks, and of whom it is 
related that in 1860, when living atVarennes, St. Maur, 
dividing his time, as usual, between cooking and litera- 
ture (LorsquHl ne faisait pas saiiter un roman, il 
faisait sauter des petits oignons), on Mountjoye, a 
young artist friend and neighbor, going to see him, he 
cooked dinner for him. Going into the poultry yard, 
after donning a white apron, he wrung the neck of a 
chicken; then to the kitchen garden for vegetables, 
which he peeled and washed himself ; lit the fire, got 
butter and flour ready, put on his saucepans, then cooked, 
stirred, tasted, seasoned until dinner time. Then he 
entered in triumph and announced, ^' Le diner' est 
servi." For six months he passed three or four days a 
week cooking for Mountjoye. This novelist's book says, 
in connection with the fact that great cooks in France 
have been men of literary culture, and literary men often 
fine cooks, '^ It is not surprising that literary men have 
always formed the entourage of a great chef, for, to 
appreciate thoroughly all there is in the culinary art, 
none are so well able as men of letters; accustomed as 
they are to all refinements, they can appreciate better 
than others those of the table," thus paying himself and 
confreres a delicate little compliment at the expense of 
the non-literary world; but, notwithstanding the naive 
self-glorification, he states a fact that helps to point my 
moral, that indifference to cooking does not indicate re- 
finement, intellect, or social pre-eminence. 

Brillat-Savarin, grave judge as he was, and abstemi- 
ous eater, yet has written the book of books on the art 
of eating. It was he who said, ^- Tell me what you eat. 



A Few Preliminary Remarks. 9 

I will tell you what you are," as pregnant with truth as 
the better-known proverb it paraphrases. 

Malherbe loved to watch his cook at work. I think it 
was he who said, ^^ A coarse-minded man could never be 
a cook," and Charles Baudelaire, the Poe of France, takes 
a poet's view of our daily wants, when he says, *' that an 
ideal cook must have a great deal of the poet's nature, 
combining something of the voluptuary with the man 
of science learned in the chemical principles of matter;" 
although he goes further than we care to follow Avhen 
he says, that the question of sauces and seasoning re- 
quires *^ a chapter as grave as 2^ feuilleton de scieiice." 

It has been said by foreigners that Americans care 
nothing for the refinements of the table, but I think 
they do care. I have known many a woman in com- 
fortable circumstances long to have a good table, many 
a man aspire to better things, and if he could only get 
them at home w^ould pay any money. But the getting 
them at home is the difficulty ; on a table covered with 
exquisite linen, glass, and silver, whose presiding queen 
is more likely than not a type of the American lady — 
graceful, refined, and witty — on such a table, with such 
surroundings, will come the plentiful, coarse, common- 
place dinner. 

The chief reason for this is lack of knowledge on the 
part of our ladies: know how to do a thing yourself, and 
you will get it well done by others. But how are many 
of them to know ? The daughters of the wealthy in 
this country often marry struggling men, and they know 
less about domestic economy than ladies of the higher 
ranks abroad; not because English or French ladies take 
more part in housekeeping, but because they are at home 
all their lives. Ladies of the highest rank never go to a 



10 Culture and Cooking. 

boarding or any other school, and these are the women 
who, with some few exceptions, know best how things 
should be done. They are at home listening to criti- 
cisms from papa, who is an epicure perhaps, on the 
shortcomings of his own table, or his neighbors'; from 
mamma, as to what the soup lacks, why cook is not a 
^^ cordon hleu,'^ etc., while our girls are at school, far 
away from domestic comments, deep in the agonies of 
algebra perhaps ; and directly they leave school, in many 
cases they marry. As a preparation for the state of 
matrimony most of them learn how to make cake and 
preserves, and the very excellence of their attainments 
in that way proves how easy it would be for them, with 
their dainty fingers and good taste, to far excel their Eu- 
ropean cousins in that art which a French writer says is 
based on ^^reason, health, common sense, and sound taste." 
Here let me say, I do not by any means advocate a 
woman, who can afford to pay a first-rate cook, avoiding 
the expense by cooking herself ; on the contrary, I think 
no woman is justified in doing work herself that she has 
the means given her to get done by employing others. 
I have no praise for the economical woman, who, from 
a desire to save, does her own work without necessity for 
economy. It is not her work; the moment she can afford 
to employ others it is the work of some less fortunate per- 
son. But in this country, it often happens that a good 
cook is not to be found for money, although the raw ma- 
terial of which one might be made is much oftener at 
hand. And if ladies would only practice the culinary art 
with as much, nay, half as much assiduity as they give to 
a new pattern in crochet ; devote as much time to attain- 
ing perfection in one dish or article of food, be it per- 
fect bread, or some French dish which father, brother. 



A Fczv Preliminary Remarks, 1 1 

or husband goes to Delmonico's to enjoy, as they do to 
the crochet tidies or embroidered rugs with which they 
decorate their drawing-rooms, they could then take the 
material, in the shape of any ambitious girl they may 
meet with, and make her a fine cook. In the time they 
take to make a dozen tidies, they would have a dozen 
dishes at their fingers' ends; and let me tell yoU;, the 
woman who can cook a dozen things, outside of pre- 
serves, in a 'perfect manner is a rarity here, and a good 
cook anywhere, for, by the time the dozen are accom- 
plished, she will have learned so much of the art of cook- 
ing that all else will come easy. One good soup, bouil- 
lon, and you have the foundation of all others ; two 
good sauces, white sauce and brown, ^^les sauces meres " 
as the French call them (mothers of all other sauces), 
and all others are matters of detail. Learn to make one 
kind of roll perfectly, as light, plump, and crisp as 
Delmonico's, and all varieties are at your fingers' ends; 
you can have kringles, Vienna rolls, Kreuznach horns, 
Yorkshire tea cakes, English Sally Lunns and Bath 
buns ; all are then as easy to make as common soda bis- 
cuit. In fact, in cooking, as in many other things, ^^ ce 
n'est que le premier pas que coiUe; " failures are almost 
certain at the beginning, but a failure is often a step 
toward success — if we only know the reason of the failure. 



CHAPTER 11. 

OI?" BKEAD. 

Of all articles of food, bread is perhaps the one about 
which most has been written, most instruction given, 
and most failures made. Yet what adds more to the 
elegance of a table than . exquisite bread or breads, and 
— unless you live in a large city and depend on the baker 
— what so rare ? A lady who is very proud of her table, 
and justly so, said to me quite lately, '^ I cannot under- 
stand how it is we never have really fine home-made 
bread. I have tried many recipes, following them 
closely, and I can't achieve anything but a common- 
place loaf with a thick, hard crust ; and as for rolls, 
they are my despair. I have wasted eggs, butter, and 
patience so often that I have determined to give them 
up, but a fine loaf I will try far." 

*' And when you achieve the fine loaf, you may revel 
in home-made rolls," I answered. 

And so I advise every one first to make perfect bread, 
light, white, crisp, and thin-crusted, that rarest thing 
in home-made bread. 

I have read over many recipes for bread, and am con- 
vinced that when the time allowed for rising is specified, 
it is invariably too short. One standard book directs 
you to leave your sponge two hours, and the bread when 
made up a quarter of an liour. This recipe strictly 
followed must result in heavy, tough bread. As bread 

12 



On Bread, 13 

is so important, and so many fail, I will 'give my own 
method from beginning to end ; not that there are not 
numberless good recipes, but simply because they fre- 
quently need adapting to circumstances, and altering a 
recipe is one of the things a tyro fears to do. 

I make a sponge over night, using a dried yeast-cake 
soaked in a pint of warm water, to which I add a spoon- 
ful of salt, and, if the weather is warm, as much soda as 
will lie on a dime ; make this into a stiff batter with 
flour— it may take a quart or less, flour varies so much, 
to give a rule is impossible ; but if, after standing, the 
sponge has a watery appearance, make it thicker by 
sprinkling in more flour, beat hard a few minutes, and 
cover with a cloth— in winter keep a piece of thick flan- 
nel for the purpose, as a chill is fatal to your sponge - 
and set in a warm place free from draughts. 

The next morning, when the sponge is quite light- 
that is to say, at least twice the bulk it was, and like a 
honeycomb— take two quarts of flour, more or less, as 
you require, but I recommend at first a small baking, 
and this will make three small loaves ; in winter, flour 
should be dried and warmed ; put it in your mixing 
bowl, and turn the sponge into a hole in the center. 
Have ready some water, rather more than lukewarm, but 
not hot. Add it gradually, stirring your flour into the 
sponge at the same time. The great fault in making 
bread is getting the dough too stiff ; it should be as soft 
as possible, without being at all sticky or wet. Now 
knead it with both hands from all sides into the center ; 
keep this motion, occasionally dipping your hands into 
the flour if the dough sticks, but do not add more flour 
unless the paste sticks very much ; if you have the right 
consistency it will be a smooth mass, very soft to the 



14 Culture and Cooking. 

touch, yet not stichy, but this may not be attained at a 
first mixing without adding flour by degrees. When 
you have kneaded the dough until it leaves the bowl all 
round, set it in a warm place to rise. When it is well 
risen, feels very soft and warm to the touch, and is twice its 
bulk, knead it once more thoroughly, then put it in tins 
either floured, and the flour not adhering shaken out, or 
buttered, putting in each a piece of dough half the size 
you intend your loaf to be. Now everything depends on 
your oven. Many people bake their bread slowly, leav- 
ing it in the oven a long time, and this causes a thick, 
hard crust. When baked in the modern iron oven, 
quick baking is necessary. Let the oven be quite hot, 
then put a little ball of paste in, and if it browns palely 
in seven to ten minutes it is about right ; if it burns, it 
is too hot ; open the damper ten minutes. Your bread, 
after it is in the tins, Avill rise much more quickly than 
the first time. Let it get light, but not too light — twice 
its hulk is a good rule ; but if it is light before your oven 
is ready, and thus in danger of getting too porous, work 
it down with your hand, it will not harm it, although it 
is better so to manage that the oven waits for the bread 
rather than the bread for the oven. A small loaf — and 
by all means make them small until you have gained 
experience — will not take more than three quarters of an 
hour to bake ; Avhen a nice yellow brown, take it out, turn 
it out of the tin into a cloth, and tap the bottom ; if it is 
crisp and smells cooked, the loaf is done. Once the bot- 
tom is brown it need remain no longer. Should that, 
however, from fault of your oven, be not brown, but 
soft and white, you must put it back in the oven, the 
bottom upwards. An oven that does not bake at the 
bottom will, however, be likely to spoil your bread. It 



On Bread, 15. 

is sometimes caused by a careless servant leaving a col- 
lection of ashes underneath it ; satisfy yourself that all 
the flues are perfectly clean and clear before beginning 
to bake, and if it still refuses to do its duty, change it, 
for you will have nothing but loss and vexation of spirit 
while you have it in use. I think you will find this 
bread white, evenly porous (not with small holes in one 
part and caverns in another ; if it is so you have made 
your dough too stiff, and it is not sufficiently kneaded), 
and with a thin, crisp crust. Bread will surely fail to 
rise at all if you have scalded the yeast ; the water must 
never be too hot. In winter, if it gets chilled, it will 
only rise slowly, or not at all, and in using baker's or 
German yeast take care that it is not stale, which will 
cause heavy, irregular bread. 

In making bread with compressed yeast proceed in 
exactly the same way, excepting that the sponge will not. 
need to be set over night, unless you want to bake very 
early. 

If you have once produced bread to your satisfaction 
you will find no difficulty in making rolls. Proceed as. 
follows : 

Take a piece of the dough from your baking after it. 
has risen once. To a piece as large as a man's fist take 
a large tablespoonful of butter and a little powdered 
sugar ; work them into the dough, put it in a bowl, cover 
it, and set it in a warm place to rise— a shelf behind the 
stove is best ; if you make this at the same time as 
your bread, you will find it takes longer to rise ; the 
butter causes that difference; when very light, much 
lighter than your bread should be, take your hand and 
push it down till it is not larger than when you put it 
in the bowl ; let it rise again, and again push it down,. 



l6 Culture and Cooking. 

but not so thoroughly ; do this once or twice more, and 
you have the secret of light rolls. You will find them rise 
very quickly, after once or twice pushing down. When 
they have risen the third or fourth time, take a little 
butter on your hands, and break off small pieces about 
the size of a walnut and roll them round. Either put 
them on a tin close together, to be broken apart, or an 
inch or two from each other, in which case work in a 
little more flour, and cut a cleft on the top, and once more 
set to rise ; half an hour will be long enough generally, 
but in this case you must judge for yourself, they some- 
times' take an hour ; if they look swelled very much and 
; smooth they will be ready. Have a nice hot oven, and 
bake for twelve to fifteen minutes. 

Add a little more sugar to your dough and an Q%g, go 
through the same process, brush them over with sugar 
dissolved in milk, and you will have delicious rusks. 

The above is my own method of making rolls, and the 
simplest I know of ; but there are numbers of other 
recipes given in cookery books which would be just as 
good if the exact directions for letting them rise were 
given. As a test — and every experiment you try will be 
so much gained in your experience — follow the recipe 
given for rolls in any good cookery book, take part of 
the dough and let it rise as therein directed, and bake, 
set the other part to rise as / direct, and notice the dif- 
ference. 

Keeuznach Horns. — Either take a third of the 
dough made for bread with three quarts of flour, or set 
a sponge with a pint of flour and a yeast-cake soaked in 
half a pint of warm water or milk, making it into a stif- 
fish dough with another pint of flour; then add four 
ounces of butter, a little sugar, and two eggs; work well. 



On Bread. ij 

If you use the bread dough, you will need to dredge in 
a little more flour on account of the eggs, but not very 
much; then set to rise as for rolls, work it down twice or 
thrice, then turn the dough out on the molding board 
lightly floured, roll it as you would pie-crust into pieces 
six inches square, and quarter of an inch thick, make two 
sharp, quick cuts across it from corner to corner, and you 
will have from each square four three-cornered pieces of 
paste; spread each thinly with soft butter, flour lightly, 
and roll up very lightly from the wide side, taking care 
that it is not squeezed together in any way ; lay them on 
a tin with the side on which the point comes uppermost, 
and bend round in the form of a horseshoe; these will 
take some time to rise; when they have swollen much 
and look light, brush them over with white of egg 
(not beaten) or milk and butter, and bake in a good 
oven. 

Kki:n^gles are made from the same recipe, but with 
another Qgg and two ounces of sugar (powdered) added 
to the dough when first set to rise; then, when well risen 
two or three times, instead of rolling with a pin as for 
horns, break off pieces, roll between your hands as thick 
as your finger, and form into figure eights, rings, fingers; 
or take three strips, flour and roll them as thick as your 
finger, tapering at each end ; lay them on the board, 
fasten the three together at one end, and then lay one 
over the other in a plait, fasten the other end, and set to 
rise, bake; when done, brush over with sugar dissolved in 
milk, and sprinkle with sugar. 

All these breads are delicious for breakfast, and may 
easily be had without excessive early rising if the sponge 
is set in the morning, dough made in the afternoon, 
and the rising and working done in the evening ; when. 



)/', Lullilir <iiiil ( onhiflfr. 

\m\mj(\ of fnnkin^ up \\\\a} m1l«, }iorn«, or krin^h^s, f>u«fi 
ih« rloti^li down Mioroiif/lily, (!ov*ir wi(,}» w, ^Inrnp fohJf,<) 
fjlr;U», Hr^l \}\\i in r y^r/y ^!oM phwjo If i/i BMni/fir;r nol, of» 
ice of mxHR^v— MM?n tM^xi ffiornifif/, »,« Roori m ili<5 f)ro i« 

ttligtii, tfJoM, t>l<t/'l'» not pii^'li 'loy/n nny mrmv J'H*' '" '»■ 

tery wn/fn «poi, ^in') wIi^^m li^ht, fmko, 

In F?Mrf(ni»<r^ n« I Imivm r/jj/), I l}iinl< if, pnfot?!,, to (»n'Vfrni 
dnnt/Mf of Roorin^, l*> fxiUi, liH If f^o'la in Mmi R(»(»n^<i for* 
\)\^m\ \ \x\\\\ for /v;IIr, or nnyfliio^ rii^jiiirinf/ l,o i'i»o 80V- 
m'«/1 fim(««, jfc j« an fi»«f?nlirtl prwmif/ioti. 

('»ffforiifi5, — J «Mp|)ow) f/1iG vciry nmno of Uiiw Hnlfifjliiblfi 
Frf»fir)l» rluifify will rnll up m (Ik^ rnifMrfl (lyo of irinriy 
wlio r<'»Ml Ifiiw JMMik llnii^ndi " liMJ</' Rliop, Atf, (inind 
Ih uhIw, on I.Ih) IJoiil<iv/u'r)«' l*oiR«oni<~'rn, wlnirn, on Hun- 
(|ji,y aff/ortioonR, «r'orn« of l>oy« from Mki l>yf'/''fi« form 
/?// (Iiimm wjffi III' ^♦mnnil piiMxi, wnil/in^ Hk' lionr 
w(M«ri (Jin [liJMfl (rf ^oM'fi l»ri(M!lio pIhiII l»n vmAy lo ox- 
r'linii^M for IJinJr i<n,^<ir pona. lint I vrnliiro lo Mny, ft 
rnnJI^y Ohm l/riorflin i« rnrnjy nnlnn on Mii« Ri<l«» Urn AMnri- 
l/ioi Tlioy l/r<in^ M, I II)? dry wnhtomn lo jill, nml oRpojiiiiJly 
ttrortmf/jn of INi-riK, I ffJfMl tmuiy limnK in rmilu< IlKitri, 
otjlnjnjti^ for IhiiJ p'if|.<.rt(uw'jprm from Kmim li rri«n»l«, 
mi<1 frotn wlnn^liinl P'mnrli liookw, IhiI, n»<v<<r ^ww^mUsiX 
In profJiM'inf/ Um i<l»<Ml lirlor-lin tinlil I root willi («oiif- 
f<'''R ^r«'ij,l Imh>I^ Mm *• lAvrv do iUmlnv^^ n,f(/««r rciidini^ 
wliuili, I miiy lifiro Wrty, nJl rtoorniH of fJMiFrnnr'li kllrflinn 
ttfc lni<l liiM'n ; no nlTorl, i« «pnr<wl lo miilui nvnrylhin^ 
plnln, from Mm \\\\\\\\\V^ puian-fmi, lo llm »no«l, ^or^non« 
rnoiHiniciilnl p\iil. And I woiiM r<'r»'rnny (inc who wn,nl«( 
lo liPCMmn prol)(<i(Wil/ III liny i'Vrncli (liRJt, l.o IlinJ. Iiook, 
I'ndlin^ wiirn ilnil, In following wirlnlly llin <lJro(ilionN, 
llmrc^will li" no rniliiM'. !(, jrt l,lin otin hool-, I linvn nmt 
IVilli "n lint Riihji'nl, in \vlii< ji no niiii/'in in JMfl, l'(n' your 



Oft lirtmi^ 



lo 



i>\vn IviuMvkMl^i^ \i juii liavo it, U» lill up. Hut to ilio 



I'AUIH »UH'1\I4Y-(J|jIIH UKCU'I*) I'OH HUhMUM. 

Sifl ono |M»uu(l nf llnnr. hiko oho I'ourlh of it, uud iulil 
rulluM' nuMolluMi hnll' u oiilviMtr (mmmimivmmimI vommI. (Iim- 
*oIv(mI in hair h ^ill ol' wnnu whIim*. uimKo imIo m Mpougo 
Willi it VPrt/ lifftv ni(»r(> wulcr. pul i( ni m wMini pliioo { 

WIUMI i( JM «|oul»l(> ilM VoluiMl' l!lK(» Ihc !•(>«( of i\\0 lloui, 

innK«M» liohMu lluMMMilor. uud pu( in il mii iMpiul (pitiuhl y 
oI'mmK MuilMu^iir. mImmiI. n l(M«Mp(»otHnl. mimI I wo JMliloMpoon- 
fulmif walrrloilisfjolvo IIumu. 'riinMM|iuirlorM ol' n poun«l 
of ImMor iuui four og^M. bonl w«'ll. ihou ndd iinolluM' «'^>j. 
IhmiI iigMiu, tnui 11*1(1 mhoIIkm-. initl c. <.n imhl r.vwu \\\\\v 
luHMi us(m1 : Iho pMMlo iuuhI. Im^ noH . l»u|. uol spivml I ir loo 
Urni. M(l(l MMollior o^^- Now ini\ tInM \mft{v willi llu^ 
*^pougv Ihorou^liJv. lnMilin^' uulil I ho pnMli* Ioiivivm |Ih» 
»i(loM of I ho howl, IhoM pul il in n oroidv i\\u\ vowv ; \v{ 
ifc«lnntl four hours in m wnnu plnoo. Ihon turn il oul on 
H iMMinl. sfimuf if iftnf ihuhh *'/ fuur h'mps, roluni ii h. 
I ho on»ok. und lol il. ri^o H^nin I wo honiN ; iv|i(\.|l I ho 
Connor proocw ol' (hmhlin^ nnd M|»roiidin^. tnid pul il in 
H vorv oold phuM» for lw(» InuirM. ih'uiiIiI you wmuI Io umo 
IK Mold in Mny r(»iMn you lik(\ hul I In* Iimio hri.M^lu* Im 
Iw.. pioiMVM. nuo MM Ifiry'o M^nin wa Iho olhor; I'.irm Iho 
hir^(» «»no into u hull. iumKo m doi^p doprossioii m I ho vim* 
tor. on whi(*h phivi* I ho Minnllor hnll. pnwin^ it ^onllv 
In ; out I wo or Ihioo ^msIiom round il wilh a Mhiirp Knifo, 
<iinl hiiKo M, h(>M.utirul ^ohhMi hrown. 'VUvnv hno(>lnMir<» 
KU(di M luxury, nnd no hww Io (muuo out riyhl. IIimI Iho 
<nHd»lo of niMKiii..' lh,Mn im W('II w.mIIi Hip l.'iKiuy'. ntid 
for nn«»lhor ronHon : oyory <mio Known Iho givnt dillhMiltv 
ol* nuilvin^: piilT pir^h* in MiiiunoM. jiiid a whorl pnslo im 



20 Culture and Cooking. 

never handsome ; but take a piece of brioche paste, roll 
it out thin, dredge with flour, fold and roll again, then 
use as you would putf paste ; if for sweet pastry, a 
little powdered sugar may be sprinkled through it in- 
stead of dredging with flour. This makes a very hand- 
some and delicious crust. Or, another use to which it 
may be put is to roll it out, cut it in rounds, lay on 
them mince-meat, orange marmalade, jam, or merely 
sprinkle with currants, chopped citron, and spices, fold, 
press the edges, and bake. 

Before quitting the subject of breads I must introduce 
a novelty which I will call '^soufflee bread." It is 
quickly made, possible even when the fire is poor, and so 
delicious that I know you will thank me for making 
you acquainted with it. 

Use two or three eggs according to size you wish, and 
to each Qgg a tablespoonful of flour. Mix the yolks 
with the flour and with them a dessert-spoonful of but- 
ter melted, and enough milk to make a ^qyj thick batter, 
work, add a pinch of salt and a teaspoouful of sugar, 
work till quite smooth, then add the whites of the eggs 
in a firm froth, stir them in gently, and add a quarter 
teaspoonful of soda and half a one of cream of tartar. 
Have ready an iron frying-pan (or an earthen one that 
will stand heat is better), made hot with a tablespoonful 
of butter in it, also hot, but not so hot as for frying. 
Pour the batter (which should be of the consistency of 
sponge cake batter) into the pan, cover it with a lid 
or tin plate, and set it back of the stove if the fire is 
hot — if very slow it may be forward ; when well risen 
and near done, put it in the oven, or if the oven 
is cold you may turn it gently, not to deaden it. 
Serve when done (try with a twig), the under side 



On Bread, 2 1 

uppermost ; it should be of a fine golden brown and 
look like an omelet. This soufflee bread is equally 
good haked in a tin in which is rather more butter than 
enough to grease it ; the oven must be very hot in- 
deed. Cover it for the few minutes with a tin plate or 
lid, to prevent it scorching before it has risen ; when it 
has puffed up remove the lid, and allow it to brown, ten 
to fifteen minutes should bake it ; turn it out as you 
would sponge cake — very carefully, not to deaden it. To 
succeed with bread you must use the very best flour. 



CHAPTER III. 

PASTRY. 

To MAKE good puff paste is a thing many ladies are 
anxious to do, and in wliicli they generally fail, and this 
not so much because they do not make it properly, as 
because they handle it badly. A lady who was very 
anxious to excel in pastry once asked me to allow her to 
watch me make paste. I did so, and explained that there 
was moi-e in the manner of using than in the making 
up. I then gave her a piece of my paste when com- 
pleted, and asked her to cover some patty pans while I 
covered others, cautioning her as to the way she must 
cover them ; yet, when those covered by her came out 
of the oven they had not risen at all, they were like rich 
, short paste ; while my own, made from the same paste, 
were toppling over with lightness. I had, Avithout say- 
ing anything, pressed my thumb slightly on one spot of 
one of mine ; in that spot the paste had not risen at all, 
and I think this practical demonstration of what I had 
tried to explain was more useful than an hour's talk 
would have been. 

I will first give my method of making, which is the 
usual French way of making ^'feuilletonage.^^ Take 
one pound of butter, or half of it lard ; press all the 
water out by squeezing it in a cloth ; this is impor- 
tant, as the liquid in it would wet your paste ; take a 
(third of the butter, or butter and lard, and rub it into 



Pastry, 23 

one pound of fine flour ; add no salt if your butter is 
salted ; then take enough water (to which you may add 
the well-beaten white of an Qg%, but it is not absolutely 
necessary) to make the flour into a smooth, firm dough; it 
must not be too stiff, or it will be hard to roll out, or 
too soft, or it will never make good paste ; it should roll 
easily, yet not stick; work it till it is very smooth, then 
roll it out till it is half an inch thick ; now lay the whole 
of the butter in the center, fold one- third the paste over, 
then the other third ; it is now folded in three, with the 
butter completely hidden ; now turn the ends toward 
you, and roll it till it is half an inch thick, taking care, 
by rolling very evenly, that the butter is not pressed out 
at the other end ; now you have a piece of paste about 
two feet long, and not half that width ; flour it lightly, 
and fold over one third and under one third, which Avill 
almost bring it to a square again ; turn it round so that 
what was the side is now the end, and roll. Most likely 
now the butter will begin to break through, in which 
case fold it, after flouring lightly, in three, as before, and 
put it on a dish on the ice, covering it with a damp cloth. 
You may now either leave it for an hour or two, or till 
next day. Paste made the day before it is used is much 
better and easier to manage, and in winter it may be kept 
for four or five days in a cold place, using from it as 
required. 

When ready to use your paste finish the making by 
rolling it out, dredging a little flour, and doubling it in 
three as before, and roll it out thin ; do this until from 
first to last it has been so doubled and rolled seven times. 

Great cooks differ on one or two points in making 
pastry ; for instance, Soyer directs you to put the yolk 
of an ^gg instead of the white, and a squeeze of lemon 



24 Culture a}id Cooki)ig. 

juice in(() Iho (lour, nud expressly forbids you to work it 
before luldiui;- the mass of butter, Avliile Jules GoufTe 
snyv^, *Mvork it until smooth and shining/' I cannot 
j)reteud to decide between these ditT(>riug doctors, but I 
pursue lh(Miiet hod I liave j^iveu and always have liglit 
])astry. And now lo llie handling- of it : It must only be 
touched by the lightest lingers, every cut must be made 
with a sharp knife, and done with one (piick stroke so that 
the pasle is not dragged at all ; in covering a ])ie dish or 
patty pan, you arc commonly directed to mold the paste 
over it as thin as possibU\ wliich conveys the idea that the 
paste is to be pressed over and so nuule (bin ; this Avould 
destroy the finest paste in the world ; roll it thin, say 
for snuill larllels, k>ss than a quarter of an inch thick, 
for a pie a. tritle tliieker, then lay the dish or tin to be 
covered on the past(\ and cut out with a knife, dipped in 
liot wa.tc^r or Hour, a. piece a little larger than the mold, 
then line with the ])iece you have cut, touching it as little 
as ])ossibl(^ ; press only enough to nudvc the paste adhere 
to the bottom, but on no account ])ress the border; to 
test tin* necessity of avoiding this, gently ])ress one s]iot 
on a tart, before putting it in tlu* ovcmu oidy so much as 
many ])eople always do in undoing ])ie, and watch the 
result. >\ hen your tartlets or ])ies are made, take each 
up on your left hand, and with a shar[) knife di})i)ed in 
Hour trim it round quickly. To make the cover of a 
j)ie adhere to the under crust, lay the forefinger of your 
right hand lengthwise round the border, but as far from 
the edge as you can, thus forming a groove for the syru]>s, 
and i)ressing the cover on at the sanu^ time. A Avord 
here about fruit pies : Pile the fruit high in \\\q center, 
leaving a space all round the sides almost bare of fruit, 
when the cover is on press gently the paste, as I have 



Pastry. 25 

oxplainod, into this groove, then iiuike two or three deep 
lioles in the groove ; the juice will hoil out of these holes 
iind run round this groove, instead of boiling out through 
llie edges and wasting. 

This is the ])astry-(a)()k's way of making ])i('s, and makes 
a mucli handsomer one than the usual Hat melJioil, 
besides saving your syrup. 'I\) ornament fruit pies or 
tartlets, whip the white of an Q.g^^ and stir in as much 
powdered sugar as will make a thin meringue — a largo 
tablespoonful is usually enough — then when your ])ies or 
tartlets are baked. Lake them from the oven, glaze with 
the Qg'^ and sugar, and retui'n to the oven, leaving the 
door open ; when it has sot into ji frosty icing they are 
ready to serve. 

It is worth while to accomplish ])ulf ])asLe, for so 
many dainty trifles may be made with it, which, at- 
tempted with the ordinary short i)Mste, would be unsight- 
ly. Some of these that seem to me novel I will describe. 

Rissolettes are made with trimmings of puff paste; if 
you have about a <iuarter of a])ound left, roll it out very 
thin, about as thiek as a liffy-cent piece; put about half 
a spoonful of marniiilade or jam on it, in places ab6ut 
an inch aj^art, wet lightly round each, and place a piece 
of paste over id 1 ; take a small round cutter as large as 
a dollar, and press round the part where the marma- 
lade or jam is with the thiek ])art of the cutter; then cut 
them out with a cutter a size larger, lay them on a bak- 
ing tin, brush over with white of egg; then cut some little 
rings the size of a quarter dollar, ])ut one on each, Qgg 
over again, aiul bake twenty minutes in a nice hot oven; 
then sift white sugar all over, put thomback in the oven 
to glaze ; a litt,le red currant jelly in each ring looks 
pretty ; serve in the form of a pyramid. 
3 



26 Culture and Cooking. 

Pastey Tablets.— Out strips of paste three inches 
and a half long, and an inch and a half wide, and as 
thick as a twenty-five cent piece ; lay on half of them 
a thin filmy layer of jam or marmalade, not jelly; then 
on each lay a strip without jam, and bake in a quick 
oven. When the paste is well risen and brown, take 
them out, glaze them with white of Qgg and sugar, 
and sprinkle chopped almonds over them ; return to 
the oven till the glazing is set and the almonds just 
colored; serve them hot or cold on a napkin piled log- 
cabin fashion. 

Feangipane Tartlets. — One quarter pint of cream, 
four yolks of eggs, two ounces of flour, three macaroons, 
four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, the peel of a 
grated lemon, and a little citron cut very fine, a little 
brandy and orange-flower water. Put all the ingredi- 
ents, except the eggs, in a saucepan — of course you will 
mix the flour smooth in the cream first — let them 
come to a boil slowly, stirring to prevent lumps ; 
when the flour smells cooked, take it off the fire for 
a minute, then stir the beaten yolks of eggs into it. 
Stand the saucepan in another of boiling water and re- 
turn to the stove, stirring till the eggs seem done — about 
five minutes, if the water boils all the time. Line patty 
pans with puff paste, and fill with frangipane and bake. 
Ornament with chopped almonds and meringue, or not, 
as you please. 

It is very difficult to make fine puff paste in warm 
weather, and almost impossible without ice ; for this 
reason I think the brioche paste preferable; but if it 
is necessary to have it for any purpose, you must take 
the following precautions : 

Have your water iced ; have your buttei as firm as 



Pastry. 2/ 

possible by being kept on ice till the last moment ; make 
the paste in the coolest place you have, and under the 
breeze of an open window, if possible ; make it the day 
before you use it, and put it on the ice between every 
*' turn," as each rolling out is technically called; then 
leave it on the ice, as you use it, taking pieces from it as 
you need them, so that the warmth cannot soften the 
whole at once, when it would become quite unmanage- 
able. The condition of the oven is a very important 
matter, and I cannot do better than transcribe the rules 
given by Gouffe, by which you may test its fitness for 
any purpose : 

Put half a sheet of writing paper in the oven; if it 
catches fire it is too hot; open the dampers and wait 
ten minutes, when i3ut in another piece of paper ; if it 
blackens it is still too hot. Ten minutes later put in a 
third piece ; if it gets darTc hroion the oven is right for 
all small pastry. Called '^darh hroion paper heat.'" 
Light brown paper heat is suitable for vol-au-vetits or 
fruit pies. Bark yelloiu paper heat for large pieces of 
pastry or meat pies, pound cake, bread, etc. Light yel- 
low paper heat for sponge cake, meringues, etc. 

To obtain these various degrees of heat, you try paper 
every t3n minutes till the heat required for your purpose 
is attained. But remember that " light yellow " means 
the paper only tinged ; "dark yellow," the paper the 
color of ordinary pine wood; "light brown" is only a 
shade darker, about the color of nice pie-crust, and dark 
brown a shade darker, by no means coffee color. 



CHAPTER IV. 

WHAT TO HAVE IK YOUR STORE-ROOM. 

Oi^^E great trouble with many young housekeepers is 
betrayed by the common remark, " Cookery books al- 
ways require so many things that one never has in the 
house, and they coolly order you to * moisten with gravy,' 
* take a little gravy,' as if you had only to go to the pump 
and get it." It is very true that economy in cooking is 
much aided by having a supply of various condiments ; 
warmed-over meat may then be converted into a delicious 
little entree with little trouble. I would recommend, 
therefore, any one who is in earnest about reforming 
her dinner table to begin by expending a few dollars in 



the following articles : 






1 bottle of capers, 


1 bottle of claret, 


1 " olives. 




" white wine, 


1 " gherkins, 


1 


" sherry for cooking 


1 " soy. 




" brandy. 


1 " anchovies. 




' ' Harvey sauce, 


1 " tarragon vinegar. 




" walnut ketchup. 



And a package of compressed vegetables and a few bay leaves. 

Ten dollars thus spent may seem a good deal of money 
to a young housewife trying to make her husband's salary 
go as far as it will ; but I assure her it is in the end an 
economy, especially in a small family, who are so apt to 
get tired of seeing the same thing, that it has to be 

38 



What to Have in Your Store-room. 29 

thrown or given away. With these condiments and 
others I have yet to mention you will have no trouble 
in using every scrap ; not using it and eating it from a 
sense of duty, and wishing it was something better, but 
enjoying it. With your store-room well provided, you 
can indeed go for gravy *'as if to the pump." 

Besides the foregoing list of articles to be bought of 
any good grocer, there are others which can be made at 
home to advantage, and once made are always ready. 
Mushroom powder I prefer- for j,aiy use to mushroom 
catsup ; it is easily made and its uses are infinite. 
Sprinkled over steak (when it must be sifted) or chops, 
it is delicious. For ordinary purposes, such as flavoring 
soup or gravy, it need not be sifted. To prepare it, take 
a peck of large and very fresh mushrooms, look them over 
carefully that they are not wormy, then cleanse them 
with a piece of flannel from sand or grit, then peel them 
and put them in the sun or a cool oven to dry ; they re- 
quire long, slow drying, and must become in a state to 
crumble. Your peck will have diminished by the pro- 
cess into half a pint or less of mushroom powder, but 
you have the means with it of making a rich gravy at a 
few minutes' notice. 

Apropos of gravies — that much- vexed question in 
small households — for without gravies on baud you can- 
not make good hash, or many other things that are mis- 
erable without, and excellent with it. Yet how difficult 
it is to have gravy always on hand every mistress of a 
small family knows, in spite of the constant advice to 
'* save your trimming to make stock." Do by all means 
save your bones, gristle, odds and ends of meat of all 
kinds, and convert them into broth ; but even if you 
do, it often happens that the days you have done so no 



30 Culture and Cooking. 

gravy is required, and then it sours quickly in summer, 
although it may be arrested by reboiling. In no family 
of three or four are there odds and ends enough, unless 
there is a very extravagant table kept, to insure stock for 
every day. My remedy for this, then, is to make a 
stock that will keep for months or years — in other words, 
glaze. So very rarely forming part of a housewife's 
stores, yet so valuable that the fact is simply astonish- 
ing ; with a piece of glaze, you have a dish of soup on 
an emergency, rich gravy for any purpose, and all with 
the expenditure of less time than would make a pot of 
sweetmeats. 

Take six pounds of a knuckle of veal or leg of beef, 
cut it in pieces the size of an Qgg, as also half a pound 
of lean ham ; then rub a quarter of a pound of butter on 
the bottom of your pot, which should hold two gallons ; 
then put in the meat with half a pint of water, three 
middle-sized onions, with two cloves in each, a turnip, a 
carrot, and a small head of celery ; then place over a 
quick fire, occasionally stirring it round, until the bot- 
tom of the pot is covered with a thick glaze, which will 
adhere lightly to the spoon ; then fill up the pot with 
cold water, and when on the boiling point, draw it to the 
back of the stove, where it may gently simmer three 
hours, if veal, six if beef, carefully skimming it to re- 
move scum. This stock, as it is, will make a delicious 
foundation, with the addition of salt, for all kinds of 
clear soup or gravies. To reduce it to glaze proceed as 
follows : Pass the stock through a fine hair sieve or 
cloth into a pan ; then fill up the pot again with liot 
water, and let it boil four hours longer to obtain all the 
glutinous part from the meat ; strain, and pour both 
stocks in a large pot or stew-pan together ; set it over the 



What to Have in Your Store-room, 31 

fire, and let it boil as fast as possible with the lid off, 
leaving a large spoon in it to prevent it boiling over, and 
to stir occasionally. When reduced to about three pints, 
pour it into a small stew-pan or saucepan, set again to 
boil, but more slowly, skimming it if necessary ; when 
it is reduced to a quart, set it where it will again boil 
quickly, stirring it well with a wooden spoon until it 
begins to get thick and of a fine yellowish-brown color ; 
at this point be careful it does not burn. 

You may either pour it into a pot for use, or, what is 
more convenient for making gravies, get a sausage skin 
from your butcher, cut a yard of it, tie one end very 
tightly, then pour into it by means of a large funnel the 
glaze ; from this cut slices for use. A thick slice dis- 
solved in hot water makes a cup of nutritious soup, into- 
which you may put any cooked vegetables, or rice, or 
barley. A piece is very useful to take on a journey, 
especially for an invalid who does not want to depend on 
wayside hotel food, or is tired of beef-tea. 

The foregoing is the orthodox recipe for glaze, and if 
you have to buy meat for the purpose the very best way 
in which you can make it ; but if it happen that you 
have some strong meat soup or jelly, for which you have 
no use while fresh, then boil it down till it is thick and 
brown (not burnt) ; it will be excellent glaze ; not so fine 
in flavor, perhaps, but it preserves to good use what 
would otherwise be lost. Very many people do not 
know the value of pork for making jelly. If you live in 
the country and kill a pig, use his hocks for making glaze 
instead of beef. 

Glaze also adds much to the beauty of many dishes. 
If roast beef is not quite brown enough on any one spot 
set your jar of glaze — for this purpose it is well to have- 



32 Culture and Cooking. 

some put in a jar as well as in the skin — in boiling water. 
Keep a small stiff brush ; snch as are sold for the pur- 
pose at house-furnishing stores, called a glazing brush, 
are best ; but you may manage with any other or even a 
stiff feather. When the glaze softens, as glue would do, 
brush over your meat with it, it will give the lacking 
brown ; or, if you have a ham or tongue you wish to 
decorate you may ^'varnish" it, as it were, with the 
melted glaze ; then when cold beat some fresh butter to 
a white cream, and with a kitchen sj^inge, if you have 
one, a stiff paper funnel if you have not, trace any 
design you please on the glazed surface ; this makes a 
very handsome dish, and if your ham has been properly 
boiled will be very satisfactory to the palate. Of the 
boiling of ham I will speak in another chapter. 

I have a few more articles to recommend for your 
store-room, and then I think you will find yourself equal 
to the emergency of providing an elegant little meal if 
called upon unexpectedly, provided you have any cold 
sciaps at all in the house, and maitre dliotel butter. 

To make the latter, take half a pound of fine butter, 
one tablespoonful of very fresh parsley, chopped not too 
fine, salt, pepper, and a small tablespoonful of lemon 
juice ; mix together, but do not work more than suffi- 
cient for that purpose, and pack in a jar, keeping it in a 
cool place. A tablespoonful of this laid in a hot dish 
on which you serve beefsteak, chops, or any kind of fish, 
is a great addition, and turns plain boiled potatoes into 
pomme de terre a la maitre dlwtel. It is excellent with 
stewed potatoes, or added to anything for which parsley 
is needed, and not always at hand ; a spoonful with half 
the quantity of flour stirred into a gill of milk or water 
makes the renowned maitre d^hotel sauce (or English 



What to Have in Your Store-room. 33. 

parsley butter) for boiled fish, muttou^ or veal. In 
short, it is one of the most valuable things to have in 
the house. Equally valuable, even, and more elegant is 
the preparation known as ^'Ravigotte" or Montpellier 
butter. 

Take one pound in equal quantities of chervil, tarra- 
gon, burnet (pimpernel), chives, and garden cress (pep- 
pergrass) ; scald two minutes, drain quite dry ; pound in 
a mortar three hard eggs, three anchovies, and one scant 
ounce of pickled cucumbers, and same quantity of capers 
well pressed to extract the vinegar ; add salt, pepper, and 
a bit of garlic half as large as a pea, rub all through a 
sieve ; then put a pound of fine butter into the mortar, 
which must be well cleansed from the herbs, add the 
herbs, with two tablespoonfuls of oil and one of tarragon 
vinegar, mix perfectly, and if not of a fine green, add 
the juice of some pounded spinach. 

This is the celebrated ''heurre de Montpellier,^^ sold 
in Paris in tiny jars at a high price. Ravigotte is the 
same thing, only in place of the eggs, anchovies, pickles, 
and capers, put half a pound more butter ; it is good, but 
less piquant. 

Pack in a jar, and keep cool. This butter is excel- 
lent for many purposes. For salad, beaten with oil, 
vinegar, and yolks of eggs, as for mayonnaise, it makes- 
a delicious dressing. For cold meat or fish it is excel- 
lent, and also for chops. 

Two or three other articles serve to simplify the art of 
cooking in its especially difficult branches, and in the 
branches a lady finds difficult to attend to herself with- 
out remaining in the kitchen until the last minute before 
dinner ; but with the aid of blanc and roux a fairly 
intelligent girl can make excellent sauces. 
2* 



34 Culture and Cooking. 

For roux melt slowly half a pound of butter over the 
fire, skim it, let it settle, then dredge in eight ounces of 
fine flour, stir it till it is of a bright brown, then put 
away in a jar for use. 

Blanc is the same thing, only it is not allowed to 
brown ; it should be stirred only enough to make all hot 
through, then put away in a jar. 

If you need thickening for a white sauce and do not 
wish to stand over it yourself, having taught your cook 
the simple fact that a piece of blanc put into the milk 
•hefore it boils (or it will harden instead of melt) and 
allowed to dissolve, stirring constantly, will make the 
sauce you wish, she will be able at all times to produce 
a white sauce that you need not be ashamed of. When 
the sauce is nearly ready to serve, stir in a good piece of 
butter — a large spoonful to half a pint ; when mixed, 
the sauce is ready. Brown sauce can always be made 
l)y taking a cup of broth or soup and dissolving in the 
same way a piece of the roux ; and also, if desired, a 
piece of Montpellier butter. If there is no soup of course 
you make it with a piece of glaze. 

Brown flour is also a convenient thing to have ready ; 
it is simply cooking flour in the oven until it is a pale 
brown ; if it is allowed to get dark it will be bitter, and, 
that it may brown evenly, it requires to be laid on a large 
flat baking pan and stirred often. Useful for thickening 
■stews, hash, etc. 



CHAPTER V. 

LUKCHEON". 

Luncheon is usually, in this country, either a forlorn 
meal of cold meat or hash, or else a sort of early dinner, 
both of which are a mistake. If it is veritably luncheon, 
and not early dinner, it should be as unlike that later 
meal as possible for variety's sake, and, in any but very 
small families, there are so many dishes more suitable 
for luncheon than any other meal, that it is easy to 
have great variety with very little trouble. 

I wish it were more the fashion here to have many of 
the cold dishes which are popular on the other side the 
Atlantic ; and, in spite of the fact that table prejudices 
are very difficult to get over, I will append a few recipes 
in the hope that some lady, more progressive than prej- 
udiced, may give them a trial, convinced that their ex- 
cellence, appearance, and convenience will win them 
favor. 

By having most dishes cold at luncheon, it makes it a 
distinct meal from the hot breakfast and dinner. In 
summer, the cold food and a salad is especially refresh- 
ing ; in winter, a nice hot soup or puree — thick soup is 
preferable at luncheon to clear, which is well fitted to 
precede a heavy meal — and some savory entree are very 
desirable, while cold raised pie, galantine, jellied fish, and 
potted meats may ever, at that season, find their appro- 
priate place on the luncheon table. The potatoes, which 



36 Culture and Cooking. 

are the only vegetable introduced at strict lunch, should 
be prepared in some fancy manner, as croquettes, mashed 
and browned, a la mCiiti^e d hotel, or in snow. The latter 
mode is pretty and novel ; I will, therefore, include it 
in my recipes for luncheou dishes. Omelets, too, are 
excellent at luncheon. 

In these remarks I am thinking especially of large 
families, whose luncheon table might be provided with 
a dish of galantine, one of collared fish, and a meat pie, 
besides the steak, cutlets, or warmed-over meat, without 
anything going to waste. In Avinter most cold jellied 
articles will keep a fortnight, and in summer three or 
four days. 

Windsor Pie. — Take slices of veal cutlet, half an 
inch thick, and very thin slices of lean boiled ham ; put 
at the bottom of one of these veal-pie dishes or " bak- 
ers " about two to three inches deep, a layer of the veal, 
seasoned, then one of ham, then one of force-meat, made 
as follows : Take a little veal, or if you have sausage- 
meat ready-made, it will do, as much fine dry bread- 
crumbs, a dessert-spoonful of finely chopped parsley, in 
which is a salt-spoonful of powdered thyme, savory, and 
marjoram, if you have them, with salt and pepper, and 
mix with enough butter to make it a crumbling paste; 
lay a thin layer of this on the ham, then another of veal, 
then ham and force-meat again, until the dish is quite 
full. Lay something flat upon it, and then a weight for 
an hour. You must have prepared, from bones and 
scraps of veal, about a pint of stiff veal jelly ; pour this 
over the meat, and then take strips of rich puff paste 
(the hrioche paste would be excellent in hot weather), 
wet the edge of the dish, and lay the strips round, press- 
ing them lightly to the dish ; roll the cover a little 



Luncheon, 37 

larger than the top of the dish, and lay it on, first wet- 
ting the surface, not the edge, of the strips round the 
lips of the dish ; press the two together, then make a hole 
in the center and ornament as you please ; but I never 
ornament the edge of a pie, as it is apt to prevent the 
paste from rising. An appropriate and simple ornament 
for meat pies is to roll a piece of paste very thin, cut it 
in four diamond-shaped pieces, put one point of each to 
the hole in the center so that you have one on each end, 
and one each side, then roll another little piece of paste 
as thin as possible, flour it and double it, then double it 
again, bring all the corners together in your hand, like 
a little bundle, then with a sharp knife give a quick cut 
over the top of the ball of paste, cutting quite deeply, 
then another across ; if your cut has been clean and 
quick, you will now be able to turn half back the leaves 
of paste as if it were a half-blown rose. The ends which 
you have gathered together in your hand are to be in- 
serted in the hole in the center of the pie Then brush 
over with yolk of Qgg beaten very well in a little milk or 
water, and bake an hour and a half. 

This way of covering and ornamenting a pie is ap- 
propriate for all meat pies ; pigeon pie should, however, 
have the little red feet skinned by dipping in boiling 
water, then rubbed in a cloth, Avhen skin and nails peel 
off ; if allowed to lie in the water, the flesh comes too; 
then one pair is put at each end of the pie, a hole being 
cut to insert them, or four are put in the center instead 
of the rose. 

The Windsor pie is intended to be eaten cold, as are all 
veal and ham pies, the beauty of the jelly being lost in 
a hot pie. Do not fail to try it on that account, for 
cold pies are excellent things. 



38 Culture and Cooking. 

Anothee veal and ham pie, more usual, and proba- 
bly the ^'weal and hammer"' that ^'mellered the organ" 
of Silas Wegg, was manufactured by Mrs. Boffin from 
this recipe ; it is as follows : 

Take the thick j)art of breast of veal, removing all the 
bones, which put on for gravy, stewing them long and 
slowly; put a layer of veal, pepper and salt, then a thin 
sprinkling of ham; if boiled, cut in slices; if raw, cut a 
slice in dice, which scald before using, then more veal 
and again ham. If force-meat balls are liked, make 
some force-meat as for Windsor pie, using if you prefer it 
chopped hard-boiled eggs in place of chopped meat, and 
binding into a paste with a raw Qgg ; then make into 
balls, which drop into the crevices of the pie ; boil two 
or three eggs quite hard, cut each in four and lay them 
round the sides and over the top, pour in about a gill of 
gravy, and cover the same as the Windsor pie. In either 
of these pies the force-meat may be left out, a sweetbread 
cut up, or mushroons put in. 

A chicken pie to eat cold is very fine made in this way. 

Kaised pork pies are so familiar to every one who has 
visited England, and, in spite of the greasy idea, are so 
very good, that I introduce a well-triefl recipe, feeling 
sure any one who eats pork at all will find it worth while 
to give them a trial; they will follow it with many another. 

The paste for them is made as follows : 

Rub into two pounds of flour a lil^eral half pound of 
butter, then melt in half a pint of hot, but not boiling 
milk, another half pound — or it may be lard; pour this 
into the flour, and knead it into a smooth, firm paste. 
Properly raised pies should be molded by hand, and I will 
endeavor to describe the method in case any persever- 
ing lady would like to try and have the orthodox thing. 



LuncJicon. 39 

But pie molds of tin, opening at the side, are to be 
bought, and save much trouble; the mold, if used, should 
be well buttered, and the pie taken out when done, and 
returned to the oven for the sides to brown. 

To " raise" a pie, proceed thus : While the paste is 
warm, form a ball of paste into a cone; then w^ith the 
fist work inside it, till it forms an oval cujd ; continue to 
knead till you have the walls of an even thickness, then 
pinch a fold all around the bottom. If properly done, 
you have an oval, flat-bottomed crust, with sides about 
two inches high ; fill this with poi'k, fat and lean 
together, well peppered and salted; then work an oval 
cover, as near the size of the bottom cover as you can, 
and wet the edges of the wall, lay the cover on, and 
pinch to match the bottom; ornament as directed for 
Windsor pie, wash with ^g^^, and bake a pale brown in a 
moderate oven ; they must be well cooked, or the meat 
will not be good. One containing a pound of meat may 
be cooked an hour and a quarter. All these pies are 
served in slices, cut through to the bottom. 

Galantines are very handsome dishes, not very difficult 
to make, and generally popular. I give a recipe for a 
very simple and delicious one : 

Take a fine breast of veal, remove all gristle, tendons, 
bones, and trim to fifteen inches in length and eight 
wide; use the trimmings and bones to help make the 
jelly, then put on the meat a layer of force-meat made 
thus : Take one pound of sausage meat, or lean veal, to 
w^hich add half a pound of bread-crumbs, parsley and 
thyme to taste; grate a little nutmeg, pepper, salt, and 
the juice of half a lemon ; have also some long strips an 
inch thick of fat bacon or pork, and lean of veal, and 
lean ham, well seasoned with pepper, salt, and finely 



40 Culture and Cooking. 

chopped shallots. Lay on the meat a layer of force- 
meat an inch thick, leaving an inch and a half on each 
side uncovered ; then lay on your strips of ham, veal, 
and bacon fat, alternately; then another of force-meat, 
but only half an inch thick, as too much force-meat 
will spoil the appearance of tlie dish ; if you have any 
cold tongue, lay some strips in, also a few blanciied 
pistachio nuts (to be obtained of a confectioner) will 
give the aj^pearance of true French galantine. Roll up 
the veal, and sew it with a packing or coarse needle and 
fine twine, tie it firmly up in a piece of linen. Observe 
that you do not put your pistachio nuts amid the force- 
meat, where, being green, their appearance would be lost; 
put them in crevices of the meats. 

Cook this in sufficient water to cover, in which you 
must have the trimmings of the breast and a knuckle of 
veal, or hock of pork, two onions, a carrot, half a head 
of celery, two cloves, a blade of mace, and a good bunch 
of parsley, thyme and bay leaf, two ounces of salt. Set 
the pot on the fire till it is at boiling point, then draw 
it to the back and let it simmer three hours, skimming 
carefully ; then take it from the fire, leaving it in the 
stock till nearly cold; then take it out, remove the string 
from the napkin, and roll the galantine up tighter — if 
too tight at first it will be hard — tying the napkin at 
each end only; then place it on a dish, set another dish 
on it, on which place a fourteen-pound weight; this will 
cause it to cut firm. When quite cold, remove strings 
and cloth, and it is ready to be ornamented with jelly. 
When the stock in which the galantine was cooked is cold 
take off the fat and clarify it, first trying, however, if it 
is in right condition, by putting a little on ice. Tf it is 
not stiff enough to cut firm, you must reduce it by boil- 



Lunelle on. 41 

ing ; if too stiff, that is approaching glaze, add a lUtle 
water, then clarify by adding whites of eggs, as directed 
to clarify soup (see soups). A glass of sherry and two 
spoonfuls of tarragon or common vinegar are a great 
imjH'ovemeut. Some people like this jelly cut in dice,' 
to ornament the galantine, part of it may then also serA^e 
to ornament other dishes at the table. But I prefer to 
have the galantine enveloped in jelly, which may be done 
by putting it in an oblong soup tureen or other vessel 
that will contain it, leaving an inch space all round, 
then pouring the jelly over it. 

Jellied fish is a favorite dish with many, and is very 
simple to prepare ; it is also very ornamental. Take 
flounders or almost any flat fish that is cheapest at the 
time you require them. Clean and scrape them, cat 
them in small pieces, but do not cut off the fins ; put 
them in a stew-pan with a few small button onions or 
one large one, a half teaspoonful of sugar, a glass of 
sherry, a dessert-spoonful of lemon juice, and a small 
bunch of parsley. To one large flounder put a quart of 
water, and if you are going to jelly oysters put in their 
liquor and a little salt. Stew long and slowly, skim- 
ming well ; then strain, and if not perfectly clear clarify 
as elsewhere directed. (See if your stock jellies, by try- 
ing it on ice before you clarify.) ^^ow take a mold, put 
in it pieces of cold salmon, eels that have been cooked, 
or oysters, the latter only just cooked enough in the 
stock to plump them ; pour a little of the jelly in the 
mold, then three or four half slices of lemon, then oys- 
ters or the cold fish, until the mold is near full, dis- 
posing the lemon so that it will be near the sides and 
decorate the jelly ; then pour the rest of the jelly ovei 
all and stand in boilinoj water for a few minutes, ther 



42 Culture and Cooking, 

put it in a cold place, on ice is best, for some hours. 
When about to serve, dip the mold in hot water, turn 
out on a dish, garnish with lettuce leaves or parsley and 
hard-boiled eggs. The latter may be introduced into 
the jelly cut in quarters it* it is desired ; very ornamen- 
tal force-meat balls made bright green with spinach juice 
are also an improvement in appearance. 

A New Mayokkaise (Soyer's).— Put a quarter of a 
pint of stiff veal jelly (that has been nicely flavored with 
vegetables) on ice in a bowl, whisking it till it is a white 
froth ; then add half a pint of salad oil and six spoon- 
fuls of tarragon vinegar, hy degrees, first oil, then vine- 
gar, continually whisking till it forms a white, smooth, 
sauce-like cream ; season with half a teaspoonful of salt, 
a quarter ditto of white pepper, and a very little sugar, 
whisk it a little more and it is ready. It should be 
dressed pyramidically over the article it is served with. 
The advantage of this sauce is that (although more deli- 
cate than any other) you may dress it to any height 
you like, and it will remain so any length of time ; if 
the temperature is cool, it will remain hours without 
appearing greasy or melting. It is absolutely necessary, 
however, that it should be prepared on ice. 

All these dishes, however, are only adapted for large 
families, but there are several ways of improving on the 
ordinary lunch table of very small ones. And nothing 
is more pleasant for the mistress of one of these very 
small families than to have a friend drop in to lunch, 
and have a recherche lunch to offer with little trouble. 
Warming over will aid her in this, and to that chapter 
I refer her ; but there are one or two ways of having 
cold relishes always ready, which help out an impromptu 
meal wonderfully. 



Lin I c /icon, 43 

Potted meats are a great resource to English house- 
keepers ; this side the Atlantic they are chiefly known 
through the medium of Cross & Blackwell, though lat- 
terly one or two American firms have introduced some 
very admirable articles of the sort. Home-made potted 
meats are, however, better and less expensive than those 
bought ; they should be packed away in jars, Liebig's 
extract of meat jars not being too small for the purpose, 
as, while covered with the fat they keep well ; once 
opened, they require eating within a week or ten days, 
except in very cold weather. 

Potted bloater is one of the least expensive and appe- 
tizing of all potted meats. To make it, take two or three 
or more bloaters, cut off the heads and cleanse them, put 
them in the oven long enough to cook them through; 
take them out, take off the skin, and remove the meat 
from the bones carefully ; put the meat of the fish in a 
jar with half its weight of butter, leave it to sloivly cook 
in a cool oven for an hour, then take it out, put the fish 
into a mortar or strong dish, pour the butter on it care- 
fully, but don't let the gravy pass too, unless the fish is 
to be eaten very quickly, as it would prevent it keeping. 
Beat both butter and fish till they form a paste, add a 
little cayenne, and press it into small pots, pouring on 
each melted butter, or mutton suet. Either should be 
the third of an inch thick on the bloater. This makes 
excellent sandwiches. 

Potted Ham. — Take any remains of ham you have, 
even fried, if of a nice quality, is good for the jourpose ; 
take away all stringy parts, sinew, or gristle, put it in a 
slow oven with its weight of buti"«r, let it stay macerat- 
ing in the butter till very tender, then beat it in a mor- 
tar, add cayenne, and pack in pots in the same way as. 



44 Culture mid Cooking, 

the bloater. Thus you may pot odds and ends of any 
meat or fish you have, and as a little potted meat goes a 
long way, when you have a little lobster, a bit of chicken 
breast, or even cold veal, I advise you to use it in this 
way ; you will then have a little stock of dainties in the 
house to fall back on at any time for unexpected calls — 
a very important thing in the country. 

Potted chicken or veal requires either a little tongue 
or lean ham to give flavor ; but failing these, a little 
ravigotte butter, beaten in after the meat is well 
pounded, is by no means a bad substitute. 

Many people like the flavor of anchovies, but do not 
like the idea of eating raw fish ; for these anchovy but- 
ter is very acceptable. 

Take the anchovies out of the liquor in which they are 
packed, but do not wash them, put them in twice their 
weight of butter in a jar, wdiich stand in boiling water ; 
set all back of the stove for an hour, then pound, add 
cayenne, and pack in glasses. 

Unexpected company to luncheon with a lady who has 
to eat that meal alone generally, and (as is the unwise 
way of such ladies) makes it a very slender meal, is one 
of the ordeals of a young housekeeper ; company to lunch 
and nothing in the house. But there is generally a 
dainty luncheon in every house if you know how to pre- 
pare it ; there certainly always will be if you keep your 
store-room supplied with the things I have named. Let 
the table be prettily laid at all times, then if you have 
potted meat and preserves, have them put on the table. 
Are there cold potatoes? If so cut them up into potato 
salad, if they are whole ; if broken, warm them in a 
wine-glass of milk, a teaspoonful of flour, and a piece 
as large as an ^g^ of maitre dliotel butter. Have you 



Luncheon. 45 

such scraps of cold meat as could not come to table? Toss 
them up with a half cup of water, a slice of glaze (oh, 
blessed ever-ready glaze!) a teaspoonful of ravigotte, or 
maitre dliotel, and a teaspoonful of roux or blanc, ac- 
cording as your meat is light or dark, season, and serve. 
Or you have no meat, then you have eggs, and what bet- 
ter than an omelet and such an omelet as the following? 
Take the crumb of a slice of bread, soak it in hot milk 
(cold will do, but hot is better), beat up whites of four 
eggs to a high froth; mix the bread with all the milk it 
will absorb, 7io more, into a paste, add the yolks of eggs 
with a little salt, set the pan on the fire with an ounce of 
butter. Let it get very hot, then mix the whites of eggs 
with the yolks and bread lightly, pour in the pan, and 
move about for a minute ; if the oven is hot, when the 
omelet is brown underneath, set the pan in the oven 
for five minutes, or until the top is set ; then double 
half over, and serve. If your guests have a liking for 
sweets, and your potted meats supply the savory part of 
your luncheon, then have a brown gravy ready to serve 
with it. Put into a half cup of boiling water a slice of 
glaze, a spoonful of roux, and enough Harvey sauce, or 
mushroom powder, to flavor. If your omelet is to be 
sweet, before you fold it put in a layer of preserves. 

The advantage of the omelet I have here given is 
that it keeps plump and tender till cold, so that five 
minutes of waiting does not turn it into leather, the 
great objection with omelets generally. 

Potatoes for luncheon, as I have said, should always 
be prepared in some fancy way, and snow is a very pretty 
one. Have some fine mealy potatoes boiled, carefully 
poured off, and set back of the stove with a cloth over 
them till they are quite dry and fall apart ; then have a 



46 Culture and Cooking. 

C()l{iTi(lor, or coarse wire sieve made hot and a hot disli in 
wliich (0 servo iJiom, pass the lloiiry potatoes tliroui^li 
tlie sieve, takin^^ care not to crusli tlie snow as it falls. 
You require a large dish lieaping full, and be careful 
it is l';ej)t liot;. 

This mode of preparing potatoes, although very pretty 
and novel, must never he attcmi)ted with any biil, ihe 
whitest and mealiest kind. 

The remains of cold potatoes may he prepared thus: 
Put threes ounces of l)ut(,ei- in a frying-pan in which fry 
three onions sliced till lender, hut not very brown, then 
juit on the potatoes cut in slices, and shake them till 
they are of a nice brown color, put a spoonful of chopped 
])arsl(^y, salt, pepper, and juice of a lemon, shake well 
that all may mix together, dish, and serve very hot. 



CHAPTER VI. 

A CHAPTEE OlST GEN^ERAL MAN^AGEMENT IN VERY 
SMALL FAMILIES. 

A VERY small family, *^a young menage,^'' for in- 
stance, is very much more difficult to cater for without 
waste than a larger one; two people are so apt to get tired 
of anything, be it ever so good eating, when it has been 
on the table once or twice; therefore it would be useless 
to make galantine or the large pies I have indicated, ex- 
cept for occasions when guests are expected ; but, as I 
hope to aid young housekeepers to have nice dishes when 
alone, I will devote this chapter to their needs. 

The chapter on '^Vanning Over" will be very useful 
also to this large class. 

In the first place it is well to have regard, when part 
of a dish leaves the table, as to whether it, or any partic- 
ular part of it, will make a nice little cold dish, or a re- 
chauffe; in that case have it saved, unless it is required 
for the servants' dinner (it is well to manage so that it is 
not needed for that purpose); for instance, if there is the 
wing and a slice or two of the breast of a chicken left, it 
will make a dainty little breakfast dish, or cold, in jelly, 
be nice for lunch. Tliere is always jelly if you have 
roast chicken, if you manage properly, and this is how 
you do it : 

Carefully save the feet, throat, gizzard, and liver of 
your chickens; scald the feet by pouring boiling water 

47 



48 Culture and Cooking. 

over them; Icfive them just a minute, and pull off the 
outer skin and nails; they come away very readil}', leav- 
ing the feet delicately white; put these with the other 
giblets, properly cleansed, into a small saucepan with an 
onion, a slice of carrot, a sprig of parsley, and a pint of 
water (if you have the giblets of one chicken), if of 
two, put a quart; let this slowly simmer for two hours 
and a half; it will be reduced to about half, and form a 
stiff jelly when cold; a glass of sherry, and squeeze of 
lemon, or teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar, makes this 
into a delicious asjjic, and should be added if to be eaten 
cold. The jelly must of course be strained. 

In roasting chickens, if you follow the rule for meat, 
that is, put no water in the pan, but a piece of butter, and 
dredge a very little flour over the chicken, you will have 
a nice brown glaze at the bottom of the pan, provided 
it has been cooked in a quich oven; if in a cool oven 
there will be nothing brown at all ; but we will suppose 
the bird is browned to a turn ; pour your gravy from the 
giblets into the pan, take off every bit of the glaze or 
■osmazone that adheres, and let it dissolve, rubbing it 
with the back of the spoon ; then, if you are likely to 
have any chicken left cold, pour off a little gravy in a 
cup through a flne strainer, leaving in your pan suffi- 
cient for the dinner ; in this mash up the liver till it is 
a smooth paste which thickens the gravy, and serve. 
Some object to liver, therefore the use of it is a matter 
of taste. If you dress the chickens English fashion, you 
will need the liver and gizzard to tuck under the wings ; 
in this case, stew only the feet and throat, using a little 
meat of any kind, if you have it, to take their place ; 
but on no account fail to use the feet, as they are as rich 
in jelly as calves' feet in proportion to their size. 



General Management in Small Families, 49- 

The jelly laid aside will be enough to ornament and 
give relish to a little dish of cold chicken, and changes 
it from a dry and commonplace thing to a reciter che one. 
If two chickens are cooked it is more economical than 
one ; there is, then, double the amount of gravy, gener- 
ally sufficient, if you lay some very nice pieces of cold 
chicken in a bowl, to pour over it and leave it enveloped 
in jelly ; you still tlien, if from dinner for two people, 
have perhaps joints enough to make a dish of curry or 
fricassee, or any of the many ways in which cold chicken 
may be used, for which see chapter on ''Warming Over.'' 

For small households large joints are to be avoided, 
but even a small roast is a large joint when there are but 
two or three to eat it. For this reason it is a good plan 
to buy such joints as divide well. A sirloin of beef is 
better made into two fine dishes than into one roast, 
and then warmed over twice. Every one knows that 
''Filet de hmif Chateaubriand'' is one of the classical 
dishes of the French table, that to a Frenchman luxury 
can go no further ; but every one does not know how 
entirely within his power it is to have that dish as often 
as he has roast beef ; how convenient it would be to so 
have it. Here it is : When your sirloin roast comes from 
the butcher, take out the tenderloin or fillets, which you 
must always choose thick ; cut it across into steaks an 
inch thick, trim them, cover them with a coat of butter 
(or oil, which is much better), and broil them ten min- 
utes, turning them often ; garnisli with fried potatoes, 
and serve with sauce Chateauh viand, as follows : Put a 
gill of white wine (or claret will do if you have no 
white) into a saucepan, with a piece of glaze, weighing 
an ounce and a half ; add three quarters of a pint of 
espagnole, and simmer fifteen minutes ; when ready to 
3 



50 Culture and Cooking. 

serve, thicken with two ounces of maitre cVhotel butter 
in which a dessert-spoonful of flour has been worked. 
That is how Jules Gouffe's recipe runs ; but, as no small 
family will keep espagnole ready made, allow a little more 
glaze (of course the recipe as given may be divided to 
half or quarter, provided the correct proportions are 
retained), and use a tablespoonful of roux and iXiQmaitre 
dliotel butter, both of which you have probably in your 
store-room ; if not, brown a little flour, chop some pars- 
ley, and add to two ounces of butter ; work them to- 
gether, then let them dissolve in the sauce, for which 
purpose let it go off the boil ; let the sauce simmer a 
minute, skim, and serve. 

The sirloin of beef, denuded of its flllet, is still a good 
roast ; and as you can't have yaur cake and eat it too, 
and hot fresh roast beef is better than the same warmed 
over, warm ye never so wisely, I think this plan may 
commend itself to those who like nice little dinners. 

A nice little dinner of a soup, an entree, or made dish, 
salad, and dessert, really costs no more than frequent 
roast meat, or even steak and pudding, by following 
some such plan as this : 

Sunday. — Pot-au-feu and roast lamb, leg of mutton 
or other good joint, etc. 

Monday. — Eice or vermicelli soup made with remains 
-of the houillo7i from pot-au-feu. If the Sunday joint 
was a fore or hindquarter of lamb it should have been 
divided, say the leg from the loin, thus providing choice 
roasts for two days, and yet having enough cold lamb — 
that favorite dish with so many — for luncheon with a sal- 
ad ; and, surprising to say, after hot roast lamb for dinner 
Sunday, cold lunch for Monday, another roast Monday, 
and cold or warmed up for lunch Tuesday, there will 



General Management in Small Families. 51 

still be (supposing as I do, in preparing this chapter, 
that the family consists only of gentleman, lady, and ser- 
vant) remains enough from the two cold joints to make 
cromesquis of lamb (see recipe), a little dish of mince, or 
a delicate saute of lamb for breakfast. It is surprising 
what may be done with odds and ends in a small fam- 
ily ; a tiny plate of pieces, far too small to make an ap- 
pearance on the table, and which, if special directions 
are not given, will seem to Bridget not worth saving, 
will, with each piece dipped into the batter a la Careme, 
and fried in hot fat, make a tempting dish for breakfast, 
or an entree for dinner or luncheon. Two tablespoonfuls 
only of chopped meat of any kind will make croquettes 
for two or three people ; hence, 'save the pieces.' But 
to return to our bills of fare : I have given the two roasts 
of lamb for consecutive days, because the weather in 
lamb season is usually too warm to keep it ; wiien this 
can be done, however, it is pleasanter to leave the second 
joint of lamb till Tuesday. Should a forequarter (abroad 
held in greater esteem than the hindquarter) have been 
chosen, get the butcher to take out the shoulder in one 
round thick joint, English fashion ; this crisply roasted 
is far more delicious than the leg ; you then have the 
chops to be breaded, and an excellent dish of the neck 
and breast, either broiled, curried, stewed with peas, or 
roast. 

Yet how often we see a whole quarter of lamb put in 
the oven for two or three people who get tired of the 
sight of it cold, yet feel in economy bound to eat it. 

Shoi^ld sirloin of beef have been the Sunday dinner, 
you will know what to do with it, from directions al- 
ready given; and as a sirloin of beef, even with the fillet 
out, will be more than required for one dinner, it may 



52 Culture and Cooknig. 

serve for a third day, dressed in one of the various ways 
I shall give in chapter on "Warming Over." You have 
still at your disposal ths bouilli or beef from which you 
have made your pot-au-feu, which, if it has been care- 
fully boiled, not galloped, nor allowed to fall to rags, is 
very good eating. Cut thin with lettuce, or in winter 
celery, in about equal quantities, and a good salad dress- 
ing, it is excellent; or, made into hash, fritadella, or even 
rissoles, is savory and delicious ; only bear in mind with 
this, as all cooked meats, the gravy drawn out must be 
replaced by stock or glaze ; it is very easy to warm over 
bouilli satisfactorily, as a cup of the soup made from it 
can always be kept for gravy. 

A leg of mutton makes tvv^o excellent joints, and is 
seldom liked cold — as beef and lamb often are. 

Select a large fine leg, have it cut across, that each 
part may weigh about equally; roast the thick or fillet end 
and serve with or without onion sauce {a la souhise) ; 
boil the knuckle in a small quantity of water, just 
enough to cover it, with a carrot, turnip, onion, and 
bunch of parsley, and salt in the water, serve with caper 
sauce and mashed turnips. The broth from this is ex- 
cellent soup served, thus : Skim it carefully, take out 
the vegetables, and chop a small quantity of parsley very 
fine, then beat up in a bowl two eggs, pour into them a 
little of the broth — not boiling— beating all the time, 
then draw your soup back till it is off the boil, and pour 
in the eggs, stirring continually till it is on the boiling 
point again (but it must not boil, or the eggs will cur- 
dle and spoil the soup), and then turn it into a hot tureen 
and serve. Use remains of the cold roast and boiled mut- 
ton together, to make made dishes; between the days of 
having the roast and boiled mutton you may have had a 



General Management in Small Families. 53 

fowl, and the remains from that will make you a second 
dish to go with your joint. 

The remains from the first cooked mutton, in form 
of curry, mince, salmi, or sauU, will be a second dish 
with your fowl. 

Veal is one of the most convenient things to have for 
a small family, as it warms over in a variety of ways, and 
in some is actually better than when put on the table as 
a joint. By having a little fish one day, instead of soup^ 
and a little game another, and remembering when you 
have an especially dainty thing, to have one with it a 
little more substantial and less costly, you may have vari- 
ety at little expense. 

For instance, if yon find it convenient to have for din- 
ner fritadelle (see '' Warming Over'') or miroton of beef, 
or cold mutton curried, you might have broiled birds, or 
roast pigeon, or game. In this consists good manage- 
ment, to live so that the expenses of one day balance 
those of the other— unless you are so happily situated 
that expense is a small matter, in which case these re- 
marks will not apply to you at all. Then, never mind 
warming over, or making one joint into two; let your 
poor neighbors and Bridget's friends enjoy your superflu- 
ity. To the woman with a moderate income it usually 
is a matter of importance, or ought to be, that her 
weekly expenditure should not exceed a certain amount, 
and for this she must arrange that any extra expense is 
balanced by a subsequent economy. 

Salads add much to the health and elegance of a din- 
ner ; it is in early spring an expensive item if lettuce is 
used; but no salad can be more delicious or more health- 
ful than dressed celery; and by buying when cheap, ar- 
ranging with a man to lay in your cellar, covered with. 



54 Culture and Cooking. 

soil, enough for the winter's use, it need cost but moder- 
ately. Celeraic, or turnip-rooted celery is another salad 
that is yery popular with our German friends; it is a 
bulbous celery, the root being the part eaten ; these are 
cooked like potatoes, cut in slices, and dressed with oil 
and vinegar, or mayonnaise, it is exceedingly good. 
Potato salad is always procurable, and in summer at 
lunch, instead of the hot vegetable, or in winter when 
green salad is dear, is very valuable. It may be varied 
by the addition, one day, of a few chopped pickles, an- 
other, a little onion, or celery, or parsley, or tarragon, a 
little ravigotte butter beaten to cream with the vinegar^, 
or with meat, as follows : Boil the potatoes in their skins, 
peel them, cut them into pieces twice the thickness 
of a fifty-cent piece, and put them into a salad bowl with 
cold meat (bouilli from soup is excellent) ; put to them 
a teaspoonful of salt, half that quantity of pepjoer, two 
tablespoonfuls of vinegar, three or even four of oil, and 
a teaspoonful of chopped parsley. You can vary this by 
putting at different times some chopped celery or pickles, 
olives, or anchovies. 



CHAPTER VII. 

OK FKYIKG AKD BROILING. 

Fryikg is one of the operations in cookery in which 
there are more failures than any other, or, at least, there 
appear to be more, because the failure is always so very 
apparent. Nothing can make a dish of breaded cutlets 
on which are bald white spots look inviting, or livid- 
looking fish, just flaked here and there with the bread 
that has been persuaded to stay on. And, provided you 
have enough fat in the pan— there should always be 
enough to immerse the article ; therefore use a deep iron 
or enameled pan — there can be but two reasons why you 
fail. Your fat has not been hot enough, or your crumbs 
have not been fine and even. 

Many suppose when the fat bubbles and boils in the 
pan that it is quite hot ; it is far from being so. Others 
again are so much nearer the truth that they know it 
must become silent, that is, boil and cease to boil, before 
it is ready, but even that is not enough; it must be silent 
some time, smoke, and appear to be on the point of burn- 
ing, then drop a bit of bread in; if it crisps and takes 
color directly, quickly put in your articles. 

These articles, whether cutlets or fish, must have been 
carefully prepared, or herein may lie the second cause of 
failure. Any cookery book will give you directions how 
to crumb, follow them ; but what some do not tell you 
is, that your bread-crumbs should be finely sifted; every 

55* 



$6 Culture and Cooking. 

coarse crumb is liable to drop off and bring with it a 
good deal of the surrounding surface. 

I also follow the French plan in using the Qgg, and 
mix with it oil and water in the proportion of three 
eggs, one tablespoonful of oil, one of water, and a little 
salt, beat together and use. It is a good plan to keep a 
supply of panure or dried bread-crumbs always ready. 
Cut any slices of baker's bread, dry them in a cool oven 
so that they remain quite colorless, or they will not do 
for the purpose. When as dry as crackers, crush under 
a rolling-pin, and sift ; keep in a jar for use. 

In no branch of cooking is excellence more appreci- 
ated than in that of frying. A dish of filets de sole or 
cutlets, crisp and golden brown, is an ornament to any 
table, and is seldom disdained by any one. Apropos of 
filets de sole; it is very high-sounding yet very attainable, 
as I shall show. I was staying with a friend early in 
spring, a lady always anxious for table novelties. ''Oh, 
do tell me what fish to order, I should like something 
fried, now that you are here to tell cook how to do it ; 
she hasn't the wildest idea, although she would be 
astounded to hear me say so." ''Have you ever 
had flounders ?" I asked. " Flounders !" My friend's 
pretty nose went up the eighth of an inch, and her con- 
fidence in my powers as counselor went down to zero. 
" Flounders ! but they are a very common fish you 
know." "I know they are very delicious," I answered. 
" Order them, and trust me ; but I must coax the 
autocrat of your kitchen to allow me to cook and pre- 
pare them myself." 

An hour before dinner I went into the kitchen, put 
at least a pound of lard into a deep frying-pan, and 
set it where it would get gradually hot, then I turned 



Oft Frying and Broiling. t^j 

my attention to the fish ; they were thick, firm floun- 
ders, and were ready cleaned, scraped, and the heads 
off. I then proceeded to bone one in the following 
way : Take a sharp knife and split the flounder right 
down the middle of the back, then run the knife care- 
fully between the flesh and bones going toward the edge. 
You haye now detached one quarter of the flesh from 
the bone, do the other half in the same way, and when 
the back is thus entirely loose from the bone, turn the 
fish over and do the same with the other part. You will 
now find you can remove the bone whole from the fish, 
detaching, as you do so, any flesh still retaining the 
bone, then you have two halves of the fish ; cut away 
the fins, and you have four quarters of solid fish. Now 
see if the fat is very hot, set it forward while you wipe 
your fish dry, and dip each piece in milk, then in flour. 
Try if the fat is hot by dropping a crumb into it ; if it 
browns at once, put in the fish. When they are beauti- 
fully brown, which will be in about ten minutes, take 
them up in the colander, and then lay them on a towel 
to absorb any fat, lay them on a hot dish, and garnish 
with slices of lemon and parsley or celery tops. 

Now when this dish made its appearance, my friend's 
husband, a hon vivant, greeted it with, ''Aha! Filets 
de sole h la Delmonico,^^ and as nothing to the con- 
trary was said until dinner was over, he ate them under 
the impression that they were veritable filets de sole. 
Of course I can't pretend to say whether M. Delmonico 
imports his soles, or uses the homely flounder ; but I do 
know that one of his frequenters knew no difference. 

Oysters should be laid on a cloth to drain thoroughly, 
then rolled in fine sifted cracker dust, and dropped into 
very hot fat; do not put more oysters in the pan than 
3* 



58 Culture and Cooking. 

will fry without one overlapping the other. Very few 
minutes w^ill brown them beautifully, if your fat was hot 
enough, and as a minute too long toughens and shrinks 
them, be very careful that it browns a cube of bread al- 
most directly, before you begin the oysters. Egg and 
bread-crumb may be used instead of cracker dust, but it 
is not the proper thing, and is a great deal more trouble. 
Should you be desirous of using it, however, the oysters 
must be carefully wiped dry before dipping them; while 
for cracker dust they are not wiped, but only drained 
welL 

Fish of any kind, fried in batter a la Car erne (see 
recipe), is very easy to do, and very nice. 

Carefully save veal, lamb, beef, and pork drippings. 
Keep a crock to put it in, and, clarified as I shall direct, 
it is much better than lard for many purposes, and for 
frying especially ; it does not leave the dark look that is 
sometimes seen on articles fried in lard. The perfection 
of ^^friture,"' or frying-fat, according to Gouffe, is equal 
parts of lard and beef fat melted together. 

Yet there are families where dripping is never used — 
is looked upon as unfit to use — while the truth is that 
many persons quite unable to eat articles fried in lard 
would find no inconvenience from those fried in beef fat. 
It is as wholesome as butter, and far better for the 
purpose. Butter, indeed, is only good for frying such 
things as omelets or scrambled eggs ; things that are 
cooked in a very short time, and require no great degree 
of heat. 

The same may be said of oil, than which, for fish, 
nothing can be better. Yet it can only be used once, 
and is unsuitable for things requiring long-sustained 
heat, as it soon gets bitter and rank. 



On Frying aiid Broiling, 59 

Do not be afraid to put a pound or two of fat in your 
pan for frying ; it is quite as economical as to put less 
for it can be used over and over again, a pail or crock 
being kept for tlie purpose of receiving it. Always in 
returning it to the crock pour it through a fine strainer, 
so that no sediment or brown particles may pass which 
would spoil the next frying. 

To clarify dripping, when poured from the meat-j^an, 
it should go into a bowl, instead of the crock in which 
you wish to keep it. Then pour into the bowl also some 
boiling water, and add a little salt, stir it, and set it 
away. Next day, or when cold, run a knife round the 
bowl, and (unless it is j^ork) it will turn out in a solid 
cake, leaving the water and impurities at the bottom. 
Now scrape the bottom of your dripping, and ^nit it in 
more boiling water till it melts, then stir again, another 
j)inch of salt add, and let it cool again. When you take 
off the cake of fat, scrape it as before, and it is ready to 
be melted into the general crock, and will now keep for 
months in cool weather. If you are having frequent 
joints it is as well to do all your dripping together, once 
a week ; but do not leave it long at any season with wa- 
ter under it, as that would taint it. Fat skimmed from 
boiled meat, pot-au-feu, before the vegetables, etc., go 
in, is quite as good as that from roast, treated in the 
same way. 

Frying in batter is very easy and excellent for some 
things, such as warming over meat, being far better 
than eggs and crumbs. Careme gives the following 
recipe, which is excellent : 

Three quarters of a pound of sifted flour, mixed with 
two ounces of butter melted in warm water ; blow the 
butter off the water into the flour first, then enough of 



6o Culture and Cooking. 

the water to make a 8oft paste, which beat smooth, then 
more warm water till it is batter thick enough to mask 
the back of a spoon dipped into it, and salt to taste; add 
the last thing the whites of two eggs well beaten. 

Another batter, called a la Provengale, is also exceed- 
ingly good, especially for articles a little dry in them- 
selves, such as chickens to be warmed over, slices of cold 
veal, etc. 

Take same quantity of flour, two yolks of eggs, four 
tablcspoonfuls of oil, mix with cold water, and add 
whites of eggs and salt as before. Into this batter I 
sometimes put a little chopped parsley, and the least bit 
of powdered thyme, or grated lemon-peel, or nutmeg; 
this is, however, only a matter of taste. 

Broiling is the simplest of all forms of cooking, and 
is essentially English. To broil well is very easy with 
a little attention. A brisk clear fire, not too high in 
the stove, is necessary to do it with ease ; yet if, as 
must sometimes happen, to meet the necessities of other 
cooking, your fire is very large, carefully fix the gridiron 
on two bricks or in any convenient manner, to prevent 
the meat scorching, then have the gridiron very hot be- 
fore putting your meat upon it ; turn it, if chop or 
steak, as soon as the gravy begins to start on the upper 
side ; if allowed to remain without turning long, the 
gravy forms a pool on the top, which, when turned, falls 
into the fire and is lost ; the action of the heat, if turned 
quickly, seals the pores and the gravy remains in the 
meat. If the fire is not very clear, put a cover over the 
meat on the gridiron, it will prevent its blackening or 
burning — if the article is thick I ahvays do so— and it is 
an especially good plan with birds or chickens, which 
are apt to be raw at the joints unless this is done ; in- 



On Frying and Broiling. 6 1 

deed, with the latter, I think it a good way to put them 
in a hot oven ten minutes before they go on to broil, 
then have a spoonful of mditre dliotel butter to lay on 
the breast of each. Young spring chickens are some- 
times very dry, in wliich case dip them in melted but- 
ter, or, better still, oil them all over a little while be- 
fore cooking. There is nothing more unsightly than a 
sprawling dish of broiled chickens ; therefore, in prepar- 
ing tliem place them in good form, then, with a gentle 
blow of the rolling-pin, break the bones that they may 
remain so. 



VAlAV'lVAl VIII. 

UOAHl'INd. 

In Kpilo of lii-illiii-Savariii'H nuixim that one may bo- 
coiiH' ;i, cook, 1)11 1 Miiisl 1)0 l)()iii a rollsseur, I iiiii iiKtliiicd 
(() III ink one may akso, by reiiiombcriii*^ oiio or Iwo 
l,liiii<(M, l)0(;oin(; a very ^(xxl '^roaHier" (to transkiJc! tbo 
niitr;iii.sl;i,l,iiJ)I(!), cHpocially in oiirdjiy, wlioii tlu; oven liaa 
tjikeii IJie \)\iUT, of Mie spit, jilllioii^Hi a <(ieat deal of 
meat i.s spoiled in roastin^^- ; a loin of liinih or piece of 
beef, that comes to the tal)l(! so pale that you can't tell 
whether it has been boiled or merely willed in the oven, 
is an au^^n-jivatioii so familiar, Ihat ji rich brown, well- 
roasted joint is ^^(MUindly a surprise. I'erhaps th(( cook 
will tell you she bus had the ''hottest kind of :in oven;" 
but then she has iirohahly idso li;id a well of water 
nnderneath it, tlu' vapor IVom which, jirisin;;- :dl the 
time, luis ell'(H;tiudly soddcuied tlu! meat, and (di{ud\(Ml 
the brovvnin<j^. ^riio surfac(i of I'oast meat should be 
covered with a. i-icb ;^da/(\ scienlilieaJly called " Osma- 
zone." That the meat may ])v. thus <j,laze(l, it should 
always ^^o into a, //o/ oven, so thai, as the g'ravy exudes, 
it maycon;;eal on the outside^ I bus sealing up the poi'es. 
^riie ^eiHM'aJ plan, bowevei', is to put meai into a warm 
oven an hour oi* two eai'TuM* than it should ^^o, with a 
quantity of water and flour underneatli it. 'IMie result in 
hot weaXher I luivc^ known to be very (lisa|,n'eeal)le, tlui 
tepid oven havin<^, in fact, given a stale taste to I Ik^ joint 

()2 



Roast mg, 63 

before it began to cook, and it at all times results in 
flavorless, tough meat. Tliere is no time saved, either, 
in putting the meat in while the oven is yet cool. Heat 
uj) the oven till it is quite brisk, then put the meat in a 
pan, in which, if it is fat, you require no water ; if very 
lean, you may put lialf a teacup, just enough to prevent 
the pan burning ; you may rub a little flour over the 
joint or not, as you please, but never more than the sur- 
face moisture absorbs ; have no clinging particles of 
flour upon the joint, neither put salt nor pepper upon 
the meat before it goes into the oven ; salt draws out the 
gravy, whicli it is your object to keep in, and the flavor 
of pepper is entirely changed by the parching it undergoes 
when on the surface of the meat, the odor of scorched 
pepper, wliile cooking, being very offensive to refined 
nostrils. This does not occur when pepper is not on 
the surface ; for the inside of birds, in stuffing, and in 
meat pies it is indispensable, and the flavor undergoes 
no change. This remark on pepper applies also to 
broiling and frying. Always pepper after the article is 
cooked, and both for appearance and delicacy of flavor 
white pepper should always be used in preference to 
black. 

Meat, while in the oven, should be carefully turned 
about so that it may brown equally, and when it has 
been in half the time you intend to give it, or when the 
upper surface is well browned, turn it over. When it 
comes out of the oven put it on a hot dish, then care- 
fully pour off the fat by holding the corner of the meat 
pan over your dripping-pan, and very gently allowing 
the fat to run off ; do not shake it ; when you see the 
thick brown sediment beginning to run too, check it ; if 
there is still much fat on the surface, take it off with a. 



64 Culture and Cooking. 

spoon ; then pour into tlie pan a little boiling water and 
salt, in quantity according to the quantity of sediment 
or glaze in the pan, and with a spoon rub off every sjDeck 
of the dried gravy on the bottom and sides of the pan. 
Add no flour, the gravy must be thick enough with its 
own richness. If you have added too much water, so 
that it looks poor, you may always boil it down by set- 
ting the pan on the stove for a few minutes ; but it is 
better to put very little water at first, and add as the 
richness of the gravy allows. Now you have a rich 
brown gravy, instead pf the thick whitey-brown broth 
so often served with roast meat. Every drop of this 
gravy and that from the dish should be carefully saved 
if left over. 

Save all dripping, except from mutton or meat with 
which onions are cooked, for purposes which I shall 
indicate in another place. 

Veal and pork require to be very thoroughly cooked. 
For them, therefore, the oven must not be too hot, nei- 
ther must it be lukewarm, a good even heat is best ; if 
likely to get too brown before it is thoroughly cooked, 
open the oven door. 



CHAPTER IX. 

BOILII^G. 

Boiling is one of the things about which cooks are 
most careless ; theoretically they almost always know 
meat should be slowly boiled, but their idea of ''slow " is 
ruled by the fire ; they never attempt to rule that. There 
is a good rule given by Gouffe as to what slow boiling 
actually is : the surface of the pot should only show 
signs of ebullition at one side, just an occasional bubble. 
Simmering is a still slower jDrocess, and in this the pot 
should have only a sizzling round one part of the edge. 
All fresh meat should boil slowly ; ham or corn beef 
should barely simmer. Yet they must not go off the 
boil at all, which would spoil fresh meat entirely ; steep- 
ing in water gives a flat, insipid taste. 

All vegetables except potatoes, asparagus, peas, and 
cauliflower should boil as fast as possible ; these four 
only moderately. Most vegetables are boiled far too long. 
Cabbage is as delicate as cauliflower in the summer and 
fall if boiled in plenty of water, to which a salt spoon- 
ful of soda has been added, as fast as j^ossiUe for twenty 
minutes or half an hour, then drained and dressed. In 
winter it should be cut in six or eight joieces, boiled /^^^f, 
in plenty of water, for half an hour, no longer. Always 
give it plenty of room, let the water boil rapidly when 
you put it in the pot, which set on the hottest part of 

65 



^d Culture and Cooking. 

the fire to come to that point again, and you will have no 
more strong, rank, yellow stuff on your table, no bad odor 
in your house. Peas require no more than twenty minutes' 
boiling if young ; asparagus the same ; the latter should 
always be boiled in a saucepan deep enough to let it 
stand up in the water when tied up in bunches, for this 
saves the heads. Potatoes should be poured off the 
minute they are done, and allowed to stand at the back of 
the stove with a clean cloth folded over them. They are 
the only vegetable that should be put into cold water. 
When new, boiling water is proper. When quite ripe 
■they are more floury if put in cold water. 

Soups. — As I have before said, I do not pretend to give 
many recipes, only to tell you how to succeed with the 
recipes given in other books. I shall, therefore, only 
give one recipe which I know is a novelty and one for the 
foundation of all soups. In one sense I have done the 
latter already. The stock for glaze is an excellent soup 
"before it is reduced ; but I will also give Jules Gouffe's 
method of making pot-au-feu, it being a most beautifully 
^clear soup. 

It often happens, however, that you have sufficient 
.stock from bones, trimmings of meat, and odds and ends 
of gravies, which may always be turned to account ; but 
the stock from such a source, although excellent, will 
not always be clear ; therefore, you must proceed with it 
in the following manner, unless you wish to use it for 
thick soup : 

Make your stock boiling hot and skim well ; then have 
ready the whites of three eggs (I am supposing you 
have three quarts of stock — one Qgg to a quart), to which 
add half a pint of cold water ; whisk well together ; then 
:add half a pint of the boiling stock gradually, still whisk- 



Boili7ig. 6y 

ing the eggs ; then stir the boiliug stock rapidly, pouring 
in the whites of eggs, etc. ; as jou do it, stir quickly till 
nearly boiling again, then take it from the fire, let it re- 
main till the whites of eggs separate ; then strain through 
a clean, fine cloth into a basin. This rule once learned 
will clear every kind of soup or jelly. 

There are many people who are good cooks, yet fail in 
clear soup, which is with them semi-opaque, while it 
should be like sherry. The cause of this opacity is gen- 
erally quick boiling while the meat is in. This gives it 
a milky appearance. After the stock is once made and 
clear, quick boiling will do no harm, but of course wastes 
the soup, unless resorted to for the purjDose of making it 
stronger. A word here about coloring soup : Most per- 
sons resort to burnt sugar, and, very carefully used, it is 
not at all a bad makeshift. But how often have we a 
rich-looking soup put before us, the vermicelli appear- 
ing to repose under a lake of strong russet houillon, but 
which, on tasting, we find suggestive of nothing but 
burnt sugar and salt, every bit of flavor destroyed by the 
acrid coloring. Sometimes stock made by the recipe for 
'pot-au-feu (to follow) requires no color ; this depends 
on the beef ; but usually all soup is more appetizing in 
appearance for a little browning, and for this purpose I 
always use burnt onions in preference to anything else. 
If you have none in store when the soup is put on, put 
a small onion in the oven (or on the back of the stove ; 
should you be baking anything the odor would taint) ; 
turn it often till it gets quite black, but not charred. 
Then put it to the soup ; it adds a fine flavor as well as 
color, and you need not fear overdoing it. 

Soup that is to be reduced must be very lightly salted; 
for this reason salt is left out altogether for glaze, as the 



68 Culture and Cooking. 

reduction causes the water only to evaporate, the salt 
reaiains. 

Gouffe's Pot-au-Feu. — Four j^ounds of lean beef, 
six quarts of water, six ounces of carrot, six of turnip, 
six of onion, half an ounce of celery, one clove, salt. 

Put the meat on in cold water, and just before it 
comes to the boil skim it, and throw in a wineglass of 
cold water, skim again, and, when it is ^' on the boil," 
again throw in another wineglass of cold water ; do this 
two or three times. The object of adding the cold water 
is to keep it just off the boil until all the scum has risen, 
as the boiling point is when it comes to the surface, yet 
once having boiled, the scum is broken up, and the soup 
is never so clear. 

The meat must simmer slowly, not hoil, for three 
hours before the vegetables are added, then for a couple 
of hours more. 

It is necessary to be very exact in the proportions of 
vegetables ; but, of course, after having weighed them for 
soups once or twice, j^ou will get to know about the size 
of a carrot, turnip, etc., that will weigh six ounces. 
The exact weight is given until the eye is accustomed 
to it. 

This soup strained, and boiled down to one half, be- 
comes consoinmL 

Celery Cream is a most delicious and little-known 
white soup, and all lovers of good things wijl thank me 
for introducing it. 

Have some nice veal stock, or the water in which 
chickens have been boiled, reduced till it is rich enough, 
will do, or some very rich mutton broth, but either of 
the former are preferable ; then put on a half cup of rice 
in a pint of rich milk, and grate into it the white part 



Boiling. 69 

and root of two heads of celery. Let the rice milk cook 
very slowly at the back of the stove, adding more milk 
before it gets at all stiff ; when tender enough to mash 
through a coarse sieve or fine colander add it to the 
stock, which must have been strained and be quite 
free from sediment, season with salt and a little wliite 
pepper or cayenne, boil all together gently a few min- 
utes. It should look like rich cream, and be strongly 
flavored with celery. Of course the quantity of rice, 
milk, and celery must depend on the quantity of stock 
you have. I have given the proportion for one quart, 
which, with the milk, etc., added, would make about 
three pints of soup. 



CHAPTER X. 

SAUCES. 

Talleyrand said England was a country with twen- 
ty-four religions and only one sauce. He might have 
said two sauces, and he would have been literally right 
as regards both Englan4 and America. Everything is 
served with brown sauce or white sauce. And how 
often the white sauce is like bookbinder's ^^aste, the 
brown, a bitter, tasteless brown mess ! Strictly speak- 
ing, perhaps, the French have but two sauces either, 
espagnole, or brown sauce, and white sauce, which they 
call the mother sauces ; but what changes they ring on 
these mother sauces ! The espagnole once made, with no 
two meats is it served alike in flavor, and in this matter 
of flavor the artist appears. In making brown sauce for 
any purpose, bethink yourself of anything there may be 
in your store-room with which to vary its flavor, taking 
care that it shall agree with the meat for which it is in- 
tended. The ordinary cook flies at once to Worcester- 
shire or Harvey sauce, which are excellent at times, but 
^' toujours perdrix " is not always welcome. A pinch of 
mushroom powder, or a few chopped oysters, are excel- 
lent with beef or veal ; so will be a spoonful of Montpel- 
lier butter stirred in, or curry, not enough to yellow the 
sauce, but enough to give a dash of piquancy. A pic- 
kled walnut chopped, or a gherkin or two, go admirably 
with mutton or pork choj)S. In short, this is just where 

70 



Sauces. 71 

imagination and brains will tell in cooking, and little 
essays of invention may be tried with profit. But be- 
ware of trying too much ; make yourself perfect in one 
thing before venturing on another. 

EsPAGi^OLE, or brown sauce, is simply a rich stock well 
flavored with vegetables and herbs, and thickened with 
a piece of roux or with brown flour. 

White Sauce is one of those things we rarely find per- 
fectly made ; bad, it is the ne plus ultra of badness ; 
good, it is delicious. Those Avho have tried to have it 
good, and failed, I beg to try the following method of 
making it : Take an ounce and a half of butter and a 
scant tablespoonful of flour, mix both with a spoon into a 
paste ; when smooth add half a pint of warm milk, a small 
teaspoonful of salt, and the sixth part of one of white pep- 
per ; set it on the fire till it boils, and is thick enough 
to mask the back of the spoon transparently ; then add a 
squeeze of lemon juice, and another ounce and a half of 
fresh butter ; stir this till quite blended. This sauce is 
the foundation for many others, and, for some purposes, 
the beaten yolk of an egg is introduced when just off 
the boil. Capers may be added to it, or chopped mush- 
rooms, or chopped celery, or oysters, according to the 
use for which it is intended. The object of adding the 
second butter is because boiling takes away the flavor of 
butter ; by stirring half of it in, without boiling, you re- 
tain it. 



CHAPTEE XL 

WARMING OYER. 

Hash is a peculiarly American institution. In no 
other country is every remnant of cold meat turned into 
that one unvarying dish. What do I say ? remnants of 
cold meat ! YmihoY joints of cold meat, a roast of beef 
of which the tenderloin had sufficed for the first day's 
dinner, the leg of mutton from which a few slices only 
have been taken, the fillet of veal, available for so many 
delicate dishes, all are ruthlessly turned into the all- 
pervading hash. The curious thing is that people are 
not fond of it. Men exclaim against it, and its name 
stinks in the nostrils of those unhappy ones whose homo 
is the boarding-house. 

Yet hash in itself is not a bad dish ; when I say it is 
a peculiarly American institution, I mean, that when 
English people speak of hash, they mean something 
quite different — meat warmed in slices. Our hash, in 
its best form — that is, made with nice gravy, garnished 
with sippets of toast and pickles, surrounded with 
mashed potatoes or rice — is dignified abroad by the name 
of mince, and makes its appearance as an elegant little 
entree. Nor would it be anathematized in the way it 
is with us, if it were only occasionally introduced. It 
is the familiarity that has led to contempt. '^But 
what shall I do?" asks the young wife distressfully; 

72 



Warming Over, 73 

*' John likes joints, and lie and I and Bridget can't pos- 
sibly eat a roast at a meal." 

Very true ; and it is to just such perplexed young 
housekeepers that I hope this chapter will be especially 
useful— that is to say, small families with moderate 
means and a taste for good things. In this, as in many 
other ways, large families are easier to cater for ; they 
can consume the better part of a roast at a meal, and 
the remains it is no great harm to turn into hash, al- 
though even they might, with little trouble and expense, 
have agreeable variety introduced into their bill of fare. 

In England and America there is great prejudice 
against warmed-over food, but on the continent one eats 
it half the time in some of the most delicious-made 
dishes without suspecting it. Herein lies the secret. 
With us and our transatlantic cousins the warming over 
is so artlessly done, that the liard fact too often stares 
at us from out the watery expanse in which it reposes. 

One great reason of the failure to make warmed-over 
meat satisfactory is the lack of gravy. On the goodness 
of this (as well as its presence) depends the success of 
your rechauffe. 

The glaze, for which I have given the recipe, renders 
you at all times independent in this respect, but at the 
same time it should not alone be depended on. Every 
drop of what remains in the dish from the roast should 
be saved, and great care be taken of all scraps, bones, 
and gristle, which should be carefully boiled down to 
save the necessity of flying to the glaze for every pur- 
pose. I will here give several recipes, which I think 
may be new to many readers. 

Salmi of Cold Meat is exceedingly good. Melt butter 
in a saucepan, if for quite a small dish two ounces will 
4 



74 Culture and Cooking, 

be sufficient ; when melted, stir in a little flour to 
thicken ; let it brown, but not burn, or, if you are pre- 
paring the dish in haste, put in some brown flour ; then 
add a glass of white or red wine and a cup of broth, or a 
cup of water and a slice of glaze, a sprig or two of 
thyme, parsley, a small onion, chopped, and one bay 
leaf, pepper, and salt. Simmer all thoroughly (all 
savory dishes to which wine is added should simmer 
long enough for the distinct ** winey " flavor to disap- 
pear, only the strength and richness remaining). Strain 
this when simmered half an hour and lay in the cold 
meat. Squeeze in a little lemon juice and draw the 
stew-pan to the back of the stove, but where it will cook 
no longer, or the meat will harden. Serve on toast, and 
pour the sauce over. A glass of brandy added to this 
dish when the meat goes in is a great addition, if an 
extra fine salmi is desired. By not allowing the flour 
and butter to brown and using white wine, this is a very 
fine sauce in which to warm cold chicken, veal, or any 
white meat. 

B»j:uf a la Jardinieee. — Pot in a fireproof dish if 
you have it, or a thick saucepan, a pint of beef broth, a 
small bunch each of parsley, chervil, tarragon — very lit- 
tle of this — shallot or onion, capers, pickled gherkins, 
of each or any a teaspoonful chopped fine ; roll a large 
tablespoonful of butter with a dessert-spoonful of brown 
flour, stir it in ; then take slices of underdone beef, with 
a blunt knife hack eacli slice all over in fine dice, but 
not to separate or cut up the slices ; then pepper and 
salt each one and lay it in with the herbs, sprinkle a 
layer of herbs over the beef and cover closely ; then stand 
the dish in the oven to slowly cook for an hour, or, if 
you use a stew-pan, set in a pan of boiling water on the 



VVar7Jii7ig Over. 75 

stove for an hour where the water will just boil. Serve 
on a dish surrounded Avith young carrots and turnips if 
in season, or old ones cut. 

Beef au Gratin. — Cut a little fat bacon or pork very 
thin, sprinkle on it chopped parsley, onion, and mush- 
rooms (mushroom powder will do) and bread-crumbs ; 
then put in layers of beef, cut thick, and well and closely 
hacked, then another layer of bacon or pork cut thin as 
a w^afer, and of seasoning, crumbs last ; pour over enough 
broth or gravy to moisten well, in which a little brandy 
or wine may be added if an especially good dish is 
desired ; bake slowly an houi\ 

PsEUDO Beefsteak. — Cut cold boiled or roast beef in 
thick slices, broil slowly, lay in a liot dish in which you 
have a large spoonful of Montpellier butter melted, 
sprinkle a little mushroom powder if you desire, and 
garnish with fried potato. 

Cutlets a la Jardiniere. — Trim some thick cutlets 
from a cold leg of mutton, or chops from the loin, dip 
them in frying batter, a la Car erne, fry crisp and quickly, 
and serve wreathed round green peas, or a ragout made as 
follows : Take young carrots, turnips, green peas, white 
beans ; stew gently in a little water to which the bones 
of the meat and trimmings have been added (and which 
must be carefully removed not to disfigure the vegeta- 
bles). Encircle this ragout with the fried cutlets, and 
crown with a cauliflower. 

Cromesquis of lamb is a Polish recipe. Cut some 
underdone lamb— mutton will of course do— quite small ; 
also some mushrooms, cut small, or the powder. Put in 
a saucepan apiece of glaze the size of a pigeon's Qg%, with 
a little water or broth, warm it and thicken with yolks 
d!f two eggs, just as you would make boiled custard, that 



^6 Culture and Cooking. 

is, without letting it come to the boil, or it will curdle; 
then add the mushrooms and meat, let all get cold, and 
divide it into small pieces, roll in bread-crumbs sifted, 
then in Qgg, then in crumbs again, and fry in very hot 
fat; or you may, after rolling in bread-crumbs, lay each 
piece in a spoon and dip it into frying batter ; let the 
extra batter run off, and drop the cromesquis into the 
hot fat. These will be good made of beef and rolled up 
in a bard of fat pork cut thin, and fried; serve with sauce 
piquant made thus : Take some chopped parsley, onion, 
and pickled cucumbers, simmer till tender, and thicken 
with an equal quantity of butter and flour. Of course 
your own brightness will tell you that, if you are in 
haste, a spoonful of Montpellier butter, the same of flour, 
melted in a little water, to which you add a teaspoonful 
of vinegar, will make an excellent sauce piquant, and 
this same is excellent for anything fried, as breaded 
chops, croquettes, etc. I may here say, that where two 
or three herbs are mentioned as necessary, for instance, 
parsley, tarragon, and chervil, if you have no tarragon 
you must leave it out, or chervil the same. It is only a 
matter of flavoring, at the same time flavor is a great 
deal, and these French herbs give that indescribable 
cachet to a dish which is one of the secrets of French 
cooking. Therefore if you are a wise matron you will 
have a supply on hand, even if only bought dry from the 
druggist. 

MiROTOK OF Beef. — Peel and cut into thin slices two 
large onions, put them in a stew-pan with two ounces of 
butter, place it over a slow fire ; stir the onions round till 
they are rather brown, but not in the least burnt ; add a 
teaspoonful of brown flour, mix smoothly, then moisten 
with half a pint of broth, or water with a little piece of 



Warming Over. 77 

glaze, three salt-spoonfuls of salt unless your broth was 
salted, then half the quantity or less, two of sugar, and 
one of pepj^er. Put in the cold beef, cut in thin slices 
as lean as possible, let it remain five minutes at the back 
of the stove ; then serve on a very hot dish garnished 
with fried potatoes, or sippets of toast. To vary the 
flavor, sometimes put a spoonful of tarragon or plain 
vinegar, or a teaspoonful of mushroom powder, or a 
pinch of curry, unless objected to, or a few sweet herbs. 
In fact, as you may see, variety is as easy to produce as 
it is rare to meet with in average cooking, and depends 
more on intelligence and thoughtfulness than on any- 
thing else. 

The simplest of all ways of warming a joint that is 
not far cut, is to wrap it in thickly buttered paper, and 
put it in the oven again, contriving, if possible, to cover 
it closely, let it remain long enough to get hot through, 
not to cook. By keeping it closely covered it will get 
hot through in less time, and the steam will prevent it 
getting hard and dry ; make some gravy hot and serve 
with the meat. If your gravy is good and plentiful, 
your meat will be as nice as the first day; without gravy 
it would be an unsatisfactory dish. If you cannot 
manage to cover the joint in the oven, you may put it in 
a pot over the fire ivithout water, but with a dessert 
spoonful of vinegar to create steam ; let it get hot 
through, and serve as before. 

For the third day the meat may be warmed up in 
any of the ways I am going to mention, repeating once 
more, that you must have gravy of some kind, or else 
carefully make some, with cracked bones, gristle, etc., 
stewed lonQy and nicely fiavored with any kind of 
sauce. 



7 8 Culture and Cooking. 

Eagout. —A very nice ragout may be made from cold 
meat thus : Slice the meat, put it in a stew-pan in which 
an onion, or several if you like them, has been sliced; 
squeeze half a lemon into it, or a dessert-spoonful of vine- 
gai", cover closely without water, and when it begins to 
cook, set the stew-pan at the back of the stove for three 
quarters of an hour, shaking it occasionally. The onions 
should now be brown; take out the meat, dredge in a little 
flour, stir it round, and add a cup of gravy, pepper, salt, 
and a small quantity of any sauce or flavoring you prefer; 
stew gently a minute or two, then put the meat back to 
get hot, and serve; garnish with sippets of toast, or 
l^ickles. 

A NICE LITTLE BREAKFAST DISH is made tlius : Cut 
two long slices of cold meat and three of bread, buttered 
thickly, about the same shape and size ; season the meat 
with pepper, salt, and a little finely chopi^ed parsley; or, 
if it is veal, a little chopped ham ; then lay one slice of 
bread between two of meat, and have the other two slices 
outside ; fasten together with short wooden skewers. If 
you have a quick oven, put it in ; and take care to baste 
with butter thoroughly, that the bread may be all over 
crisp and brown. If you can't depend on your oven, fry 
it in very hot fat as you would crullers ; garnish with 
sprigs of parsley, and serve very hot. 

To Warm a Good-sized Piece of Beef. — Trim 
it as much like a thick fillet as you can ; cut it 
horizontally half way through, then scoop out as much 
as you can of the meat from the inside of each piece. 
Chop the meat fine that you have thus scooped out, 
season with a little finely chopped parsley and thyme, a 
shred of onion, if you like it; or if you have celery boil 
a little of the coarser part till tender, chop it and add 



Wanning Over. 79 

as ninch broad finely crumbled as you liave meat, and a 
good piece of butter ; add pe[)per and salt, and make all 
into a paste with an eg^, mixed with an equal quantity 
of gravy or milk ; fill up the hollow in the meat and tie, 
or still better, sew it together. You may either put this 
in a pot with a slice of pork or bacon, and a cup of 
gravy; or you may brush it over with beaten Qgg, cover 
it with crumbs, and pour over these a cup of butter, 
melted, so that it moistens every part; and bake it, taking 
care to baste well while baking ; serve with nice gravy. 

I^KKF Olives are no novelty to the ear, but it is a 
novel thing to find tliem satisfactory to the palate. 

Take some stale bread-crumbs, an equal quantity of 
beef finely chopped, some parsley, and thyme ; a little 
scraped ham if you have it, a few chives, or a slice of 
onion, all cho])p(Kl small as possible ; put some butter in 
a i)an, and let tiiis force-meat just simmer, not fry, in it 
for ten minutes. While this is cooking, cut some un- 
derdone oblong slices of beef about half an inch thick, 
hack it with a sharp knifo on both sides ; then mix the 
cooked forc(;-moat with the yolk of an ccrg and a table- 
spoonful of gravy ; put a spoonful of this paste in the 
center of each slice of meat and tie it up carefully in the 
shai)e of an cgcr. Then if you have some nice gravy, 
thicken it with a piece of butter rolled in flour, roil each 
olive slightly in flour and lay it in the gravy and let it 
very gently simmer for half an hour. A few chopped 
oysters added to the gravy will be a great addition. Or 
you may lay each olive on a thin slice of fat pork, roll it 
up, tie it, di[) it in flour, and bake in a quick oven until 
beautifully brown. 

To AVarm over Cold Mutton-.— An excellent and 
simple way is to cut it, if loin, into chops, or leg, into 



8o Culture and Cooking. 

thick coll ops, and dip each into ^gg well beaten with a 
tablespoonful of milk, then mfine bread-crumbs and fry 
in plenty of very hot fat. 

If your crumbs are not very fine and even, the larger 
crumbs will fall off, and the appearance be spoilt. 
These chops will be almost as nice, if quickly fried, as 
fresh cooked ones. They will also be excellent if, instead 
of being breaded, they are dipped into thick batter (see 
recipe) and fried brown in the same way. This method 
answers for any kind of meat, chicken thus warmed over 
being especially good. The batter, or egg and bread- 
crumbs form a sort of crust which keeps it tender and 
juicy. Any attempt to fry cold meat without either re- 
sults in a hard, stringy, uneatable dish. 

White Meat or ain't kind is excellent warmed over 
in a little milk, in which you have cut a large 
onion, and, if you like it, a slice of salt pork or 
ham, and a little sliced cucumber, if it is summer; 
thicken with the yolks of one or two eggs, added 
after the whole has simmered twenty minutes ; take 
care the Qgg thickens in the gravy, but does not hoil, 
or it will curdle. If it is in winter, chop a teaspoonful of 
pickled cucumber or capers and add just on going to 
table. In summer when you have the sliced cucumber, 
squeeze half a lemon into the gravy, the last thing, to 
give the requisite dash of acid. You may vary the above 
by adding sometimes a few chopped oysters ; at others, 
mushrooms, or celery. The last must be put in with 
the onion and before the meat. 

Deviled Meat. — Our better halves are usually fond 
of this, especially for breakfast or lunch. 

For this dish take a pair of turkey or chicken drumsticks 
•or some nice thick wedges of underdone beef or mutton, 



Warming Over. 8 1 



'^> 



score them deeply with a knife and rub them over with 
a sauce made thus: A teaspoonful of vinegar, the same 
of Harvey or Worcestershire sauce, the same of mustard, 
a little cayenne, and a tablespoonful of salad oil, or but- 
ter melted ; mix all till like cream, and take care your 
meat is thoroughly moistened all over with the mixture, 
then rub your gridiron with butter. See that the fire is 
clear, and while the gridiron is getting hot, chop a tea- 
spoonful of parsley very fine, mix it up with a piece of 
butter the size of a walnut, and lay this in a dish which 
you will put to get hot. Then put the meat to be grilled 
on the fire and turn often, so that it will not burn; when 
hot through and brown, lay it in the hot dish, lay an- 
other hot dish over it, and serve as quickly as possible 
with hot plates. 

Or the grill may be serAxd with what Soyer calls his 
Mephistojjlielian sauce, which he especially designed for 
serving with deviled meats. Chop six shallots or small 
onions, wash and press them in the corner of a clean 
cloth, put them in a stew-pan with half a wineglass of 
chili vinegar (pepper sauce), a chopped clove, a tiny bit 
of garlic, two bay leaves, an ounce of glaze; boil all to- 
gether ten minutes ; then add four tablespoonfuls of 
tomato sauce, a little sugar, and ten of broth thickened 
with roux (or water will do if you have no broth). 

It will be remarked that in many French recipes a 
little sugar is ordered. This is not meant to sweeten, or 
even be perceptible; but it enriches, softens, tones, as it 
were, the other ingredients as salt does. 

Soyek's Fritadella (twenty recipes in one).— Put. 

half a pound of bread-crumb to soak in a pint of cold 

water; take the same quantity of any kind of roast, or 

boiled meat, with a little fat, chop it fine, press the- 

4* 



82 Culture and Cooking. 

bread in a clean cloth to extract the water ; put in a 
stew-pan two ounces of butter, a tablespoonful of chopped 
onions ; fry two minutes and stir, then add the bread, 
stir and fry till rather dry, then the meat ; season with a 
teaspoonf ul of salt, half of pepper, and a little grated nut- 
meg, and lemon peel; stir continually till very hot, then 
add two eggs, one at a time; mix well and pour on a dish 
to get cold. Then take a piece, shape it like a small ^gg, 
flatten it a little, Qgg and bread-crumb it all oyer, tak- 
ing care to keep in good shape. Do all the same way, 
then put into a frying-pan a quarter of a pound of lard 
or dripping, let it get hot, and put in the pieces, and 
saute (or as we call it ^' fry ") them a fine yellow brown. 
Serve very hot with a border of mashed potatoes, or any 
garniture you fancy. Sauce piquant, or not, as you 
please. 

The above can be m.ade with any kind of meat, poul- 
try, game, fish, or even vegetables; hard eggs, or potatoes, 
may be introduced in small quantities, and they may be 
fried instead of sauteed (frying in the French and strict 
sense, meaning as I need hardly say, entire immersion in 
very hot fat). To fry them you require at least two 
pounds of fat in your pan. 

Oysters or lobsters prepared as above are excellent. 

Boileau says, '^ Tin diner rechauffe ne valut jamais 
rien.'' But I think a good French cook of the present 
day would make him alter his opinion. 

Indeed Savarin quotes a friend of his own, a notable 
gourmand, who considered spinach cooked on Monday 
only reached perfection the following Saturday, having 
each day of the week been warmed up with butter, and 
each day gaining succulence and a more marrowy consist- 
ency. 



War jf ting Over. 83 

The only trouble I find in relation to this part of my 
present task is the difficulty of knowing when to leave 
oif. There are so many ways of warming meats to ad- 
vantage—and in every one way there is the suggestion 
for another — that I suffer from an embarras de richesse, 
and have had difficulty in selecting. Dozens come to my 
mind, blanquettes, patties, curries, as I write; but as 
this is not, I have said, to be a recipe book, I forbear. Of 
one thing I am quite sure : when women once know how to 
make nice dishes of cold meat they will live well where 
they now live badly, and for less money; and *4iash" will 
be relegated to its proper place as an occasional and ac- 
ceptable dish. 



CHAPTER XII. 

OK FKIAKDISES. 

*' Le role du gourmand finit avec rentremets, et celui du friand 
commence au dessert. — Grimod de la Reyniere. 

Amebic AN ladies, as a rule, excel in cake making and 
preserving, and I feel that on that head I have very little 
to teach ; indeed, were they as accomplished in all 
branches of cooking as in making dainty sweet dishes 
this book would be uncalled for. 

Yet, notwithstanding their undoubted, taste and ability 
in making ^^fricuidises,^^ it seems to me a few recipes 
borrowed from what the French call la grande cuisine, 
and possible of execution at Jiome, will be welcome to 
those who wish to vary the eternal ice cream and char- 
lotte russe, with other sweets more elegant and likely to 
be equally popular. 

Iced Souffle a la Byron. — One pint of sugar 
syrup of 32 degrees (get this at a druggist's if 
you do not understand sugar boiling), three gills of 
strained raspberry juice, one lemon, one gill of maras- 
chino, fifteen yolks of eggs, two ounces of chocolate 
drops, half a pint of very thick cream whipped. 

Method of making this and the next recipe is as follows: 
Mix the syrup and yolks of eggs, strain into a warm 
bowl, add the raspberry and lemon juice and maras- 
chino, whisk till it creams well, then take the bowl out 

84 



On Friandises. 85 

of the hot water and whisk ten minutes longer ; add the 
chocolate drops and whipped cream ; lightly fill a case 
or mold, and set in a freezer for two hours, then cover 
the surface with lady-fingers (or sponge cake) dried in 
the oven a pale brown, and rolled. Serve at once. 

Another frozen souffle is as follows : 

One pint of syrup, 32 degrees, half a pint of noyeau, 
half a pint of cherry juice, two ounces of bruised 
macaroons, half a pint of thick cream whipped, made in 
the same way as the last. I may here say that the fruit 
juices can be procured now at all good druggists, so that 
these souffles are very attainable in winter, and as noy- 
eau and maraschino do not form part of the stores in a 
family of small means, I will give in this chapter recipes 
for the making of very fair imitations of the genuine 
liqueurs. 

Biscuit Glace a la Chakles Dicker's. — One pint 
of syrup (32°), fifteen yolks of eggs, three gills of peach 
pulp, colored pink with cochineal, one gill of noyeau,, 
half a pint of thick cream, and a little chocolate water- 
ice, made with half a pint of syrup and four ounces of 
the best chocolate smoothly mixed and frozen ready. 

Mix syrup, yolks, peach pulps, noyeau, and a few 
drops of vanilla, whip high ; mix with the whipped 
cream, and set in ice for one hour and a half in brick- 
shaped molds, then turn out (if very firm), and cut in 
slices an inch thick, and coat them all over, or on top 
and sides, with the chocolate ice, smoothing with a knife 
dipped in cold water ; serve in paper cases. 

Biscuit Glace a la Thackeray.— One pint of syrup 
(32°), one pint of strawberry pulp, fifteen yolks of eggs, 
one ounce of vanilla sugar (flavor a little sugar with va* 
nilla), half a pint of thick cream. 



86 Culture and Cooking. 

Mix syrnp, yolks, strawberry, and yanilla sugar, wliip- 
ping as before, then add the wliipped cream lightly ; fill 
paper cases, either round or square ; surround each with 
a band of stiif joaper, to reach half an inch above the 
edge of tlie case, the bands to be pinned together to se- 
cure them ; j)lace them in a freezer. When about to send 
to table, remove the bands of paper, and cover with 
macaroons bruised fine and browned in the oven. The 
bands of paper are meant to give the biscuit the appear- 
ance of having risen while supposed to bake. 

These delicious ices were invented by Francatelli, the 
Queen of England's chief cook, to do homage to the 
different great men whose names they bear, on the occa- 
sion of preparing dinners given in their honor. They 
read as if somewhat intricate, but any lady who has ever 
had ice cream made at home, and had the patience to 
make charlotte russe, need not shrink apjaalled before 
ihese novelties, or fear for a successful result. 

Baba is a cake many call for at a confectioner's, yet 
few, if any one, attempts to make it at home. That 
the recipes generally offered do not lead to success may be 
one reason, and I offer the following, quite sure, if ac- 
curately followed, such a baba will result as never was 
€aten outside of Paris. 

Baba. — One pound of flour ; take one quarter of it, 
and make a sponge with half an ounce of compressed 
yeast and a little warm water, set it to rise, make a hole 
in the rest of the flour, add to it ten ounces of butter, 
three eggs, and a dessert-spoonful of sugar, a little salt, 
unless your butter salts it enough, which is generally 
the case. Beat all together well, then add five more eggs, 
one at a time, that is to say, add one ^gg and beat well, 
then another and beat again, and so on until the five are 



On Fria?idises, 87 

used. When the paste leaves the bowl it is beaten 
enough, but not before ; then add the sponge to it, and 
a large half ounce of citron chopped, the same of cur- 
rants, and an ounce and a half of sultana raisins, seed- 
less. Let it rise to twice its size, then bake it in an oven 
of dark yellow paper heat ; the small round babas are an 
innovation of the pastry-cook to enable him to sell them 
uncut. But the baba proper shouldbe baked in a large, 
deep, upright tin, such as a large charlotte russe mold, 
when they keep for several days fresh, and if they get 
stale, make delicious fritters, soaked in sherry and 
dipped in frying batter. 

In some cases, however, it may be preferred to make 
them as usually seen at French pastry cooks ; for this 
purpose you require a dozen small-sized round char- 
lotte russe molds, which fill half full only, as they 
rise very much; bake these in a hotter oven, light brown 
paper heat; try with a twig as you would any other cake, 
if it comes out dry it is done ; then prepare a syrup as 
follows : Boil half pound of sugar in a pint of water, add 
to this the third of a pint of rum, and some apricot 
pulp — peach will of course do — and boil all together a 
few minutes ; pour this half an inch deep in a dish, and 
stand the cake or cakes in it ; it should drink up all the 
syrup, you may also sprinkle some over it. If any syrup 
remains, use it to warm over your cake when stale, 
instead of the sherry. 

Baba Avas introduced into France by Stanislas Lec- 
zinski, king of Poland, and the father-in-law of Louis 
XIV. ; and his Polish royal descendants still use with 
it, says Care me, a syrup made of Malaga wine and 
one sixth part of eaii de tanaisie. 

But, although our forefathers seemed to have relished 



88 Culture and Cooking, 

tansy very much, to judge from old recipe books, I 
doubt if such flavoring would be appreciated in our 
time. 

Savarins — commonly called wine cake by New York 
pastry cooks — are made as follows : 

One pound of flour, of which take one quarter to make 
a sponge, using half an ounce of German compressed yeast, 
and a little warm milk ; when it has risen to tvdce its 
bulk, add one gill of hot milk, two eggs, and the rest of 
the flour ; mix well ; then add one more Qgg and beat, 
another, still beating; then add three quarters of a 
pound of fresh butter, a quarter of an ounce of salt, half 
an ounce of sugar, and half a gill of hot milk, beat well; 
then add eggs, one at a time, beating continually, until 
you have used five more. Cut in small dice three ounces 
of candied orange peel; butter a tin, which should be deep 
and straight-sided — a tin pudding boiler is not a bad 
thing — and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Fill the 
mold half full, and when risen to twice its bulk, bake in 
a moderate oven, dark yellow paper heat. When served, 
this cake should stand in a dish of syrup, flavored with 
rum, as for baJ^a, or with sherry wine. 

BoucHEES DES Dames. a very ornamental and delicious 
little French cake, is sufficiently novel to deserve a place 
here, I think. Make any nice drop cake batter (either 
sponge, or sponge with a little butter in it I prefer) ; drop 
one on buttered paper and bake ; if it runs, beat in a 
little more flour and sugar, but not much, or your cakes 
will be brittle ; they should be the size, when done, of a 
fifty-cent piece, and I find half a teaspoonful of batter 
dropped generally makes them about right. Have a 
tin cutter or tin box lid, if you have no cutter so small, 
about the size, and with it trim each cake when baked ; 



On Friandises, 89 

then take half the number and spread some with a very 
thin hiyer of red currant jelly, others with peach or 
raspberry ; then on each so spread put a cake that is 
unspread, thus making a tiny sandwich or jelly cake. 
If you have different sorts of jelly, put eacii separate, as 
you must adapt the flavor of your icing to the jelly. 
Por red currant, ice with chocolate icing. Recipes for 
icing are so general that I refer you to your cookery 
book. Those with peach may have white icing, flavored 
with almond, or with rum, beating in a little more 
sugar if the flavoring dilutes your icing too much. Al- 
mond flavoring goes well with raspberry. Cakes with 
raspberry jelly or jam should be iced pink, coloring the 
icing with prepared cochineal or cranberry juice. Thus 
you have your cakes brown, pink, and white, which look 
very pretty mixed. 

The process of icing is difficult to do after they are put 
together, but they are much handsomer this way, and 
keep longer. You require, to accomplish it, a good 
quantity of each kind of icing, and a number of little 
wooden skewers ; stick one into each cake and dip it 
in the icing, let it run off*, then stand the other end of 
the skewer in a box of sand or granulated sugar. The 
easiest way is to ice each half cake before putting in 
the jelly ; when the icing is hard spread with jelly, and 
put together. 

CURA90A may be successfully imitated by pouring over 
eight ounces of the thinly pared rind of very ripe 
oranges a pint of boiling water, cover, and let it cool ; 
then add two quarts of brandy, or strong French spirit, 
cover closely, and let it stand fourteen days, shaking it 
every day. Make a clarified syrup of two pounds of 
sugar into one pint of water, well boiled ; strain the 



go Culture mid Cooking.' 

brandy into it, leaving it covered close another day. 
Eub up in a mortar one drachm of potash, with a 
teaspoonful of the liqueurs ; when well blended, put this 
into the liqueur, and in the same way pound and add 
a drachm of alum, shake well, and in an hour or two 
filter through thin muslin. Eeady for use in a week or 
two. 

Maraschino . — Bruise slightly a dozen cherry kernels, 
put them in a deep jar with the outer rind of three or- 
anges and two lemons, cover with two quarts of gin, then 
add syrup and leave it a fortnight, as for cura^oa. Stir 
syrup and spirit togetlier, leave it another day, run it 
through a jelly bag, and bottle Ready to use in ten 
days. 

NoYEAU. — Blanch and pound two pounds of bitter al- 
monds, or four of peach kernels ; put to them a gallon of 
spirit or brandy, two pounds of white sugar candy — or 
sugar will do— a grated nutmeg, and a pod of vanilla ; 
leave it three weeks covered close, then filter and bottle ; 
but do not use it for three months. To be used with 
caution. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

FREN^CH CANDY AT HOME. 

This chapter I shall have to make one of recipes 
chiefly, for it treats of a branch of cooking not usually 
found in cookery books, or at least there is seldom any- 
thing on the art of confectionery beyond molasses or 
cream taffy and nougat. These, therefore, I shall not 
touch upon, but rather show you how to make the ex- 
pensive French candies. 

The great art of making these exquisite candies is in 
boiling the sugar, and it is an art easily acquired with 
patience. 

Put into a marbleized saucepan (by long experience in 
sugar-boiling I find them less likely to burn even than 
brass, and I keep one for the purpose) one pound of 
sugar and half a pint of water ; when it has boiled ten 
minutes begin to try it ; have a bowl of water with a 
piece of ice near you, and drop it from the end of a 
spoon. When it falls to the bottom, and you can take it 
up and make it into a softish ball (not at all sticky) be- 
tween your thumb and finger, it is at the right point ; 
remove it from the fire to a cold place ; when cool, if 
perfectly right, a thin jelly-like film will be over the 
surface, not a sugary one ; if it is sugary, and you want 
your candy very creamy, you must add a few spoonfuls 
of water, return to the fire and boil again, going through 

91 



92 Culture aitd Cooking. 

the same process of trying it. You must be careful that 
there is not the least inclination to be brittle in the ball 
of candy you take from the water ; if so, it is boiled a 
degree too high ; jDut a little water to bring it back again, 
and try once more. A speck of cream of tartar is use- 
ful in checking a tendency in the syrup to go to sugar. 
When you have your sugar boiled just right set it to 
cool, and when you can bear your finger in it, begin to 
beat it with a spoon ; in ten minutes it will be a white 
paste resembling lard, which you will find you can work 
like bread dough. This, then, is your foundation, 
called by French confectioners fondant ; with your fon- 
dant you can work marvels. But to begin with the 
simplest French candies. 

Take a piece of fondant, flavor part of it with vanilla, 
part of it with lemon, color yellow (see coloring can- 
dies), and another part with raspberry, color pink ; make 
these into balls, grooved cones, or anything that strikes 
your fancy, let them stand till they harden, they are 
then ready for use. 

Take another part of youv fondant, have some English 
walnuts chopped, flavor with vanilla and color pink ; 
work the walnuts into the paste as you w^ould fruit into 
a loaf cake ; when mixed, make a paper case an inch 
wide and deep, and three or four inches long ; oil it ; 
press the paste into it, and when firm turn it out and cut 
into cubes. Or, instead of walnuts, use chopped al- 
monds, flavor with vanilla, and leave i\\(i fondant white. 
This makes Yaxilla Almo^^d Crea:^!. 

TuTTi FiiUTTi Candy.— Chop some almonds, citron, 
a few currants, and seedless raisins ; work into some 
fondant, flavor with rum and lemon, thus making Eo- 
man punch, or with vanilla or raspberry ; press into the 



French Candy at Home. 93 

paper forms as you did the walnut cream. You see how 
you can ring the changes on these bars, varying the 
flavoring, inventing new combinations, etc. 

Fondant Panache.— Take yowv fondant, divide it in 
three equal parts, color one pink and flavor as you choose, 
leave the other white and flavor also as you please ; 
but it must agree with the pink, and both must agree 
with the next, which is chocolate. Melt a little un- 
sweetened chocolate by setting it in a saucer over the 
boiling kettle, then take enough of it to make your third 
piece of fondant a fine brown ; now divide the w^hite 
into two parts ; make each an inch and a half wide, and 
as long as it will ; do the same with the chocolate fon- 
dant ; then take the pink, make it the same width and 
length, but of course, not being divided, it will be twice 
as thick ; now butter slightly the back of a plate, or, 
better still, get a few sheets of waxed paper from the 
confectioner's ; lay one strip of the chocolate on it, then 
a strip of white on that, then the pink, the other white, 
and lastly the chocolate again ; then lightly press them 
to make them adhere, but not to squeeze them out of 
shape. You have now an oblong brick of parti-colored 
candy ; leave it for a fe'w hours to harden, then trim it 
neatly with a knife and cut it crosswise into slices half 
an inch think, lay on Avaxed paper to dry, turning once 
in a wiiile, and pack away in boxes. 

If joiiY fondant gets very hard while you work, stand 
it over hot water a few minutes. 

Creamed candies are very fashionable just now, and, 
your fondant once ready, are very easy to make. 

Cream Walnuts.— Make ready some almonds, some 
walnuts in halves, some hazelnuts, or anything of the 
sort you fancy ; let them be very dry. Tnke fondant made 



94 Culture and Cooking. 

from a pound of sugar, feet it in a bowl in a saucepan of 
boiling water, stirring it till it is like cream. Then having 
flavored it with vanilla or lemon, drop in your nuts one 
by one, taking them out with the other hand on the end 
of a fork, resting it on the edge of your bowl to drain for 
a second, then drop the nut on to a waxed or buttered 
paper neatly. If the nut shows through the cream it is 
too hot ; take it out of the boiling water and beat till it 
is just thick enough to mask the nut entirely, then re- 
turn it to the boiling water, as it cools very rapidly and 
becomes unmanageable, when it has to be warmed over 
again. 

Very fine chocolate creams are made as follows : 
Boil half a pound of sugar with three tablespoonfuls of 
thick cream till it makes a soft ball in water, then let it 
cool. When cool beat it till it is very white, flavor with a 
few drops of vanilla and make it into balls the size of a large 
pea; then take some unsweetened chocolate warmed, mix 
it with a piece oi fondant melted — there should be more 
chocolate than sugar — and when quite smooth and thick 
enough to mask the cream, drop them in from the end 
of a fork, take them out, and drop on to wax paper. 

Another very fine candy to be made without heat, 
and therefore convenient for hot weather, is made as 
follows : 

Punch Drops. —Sift some powdered sugar. Have 
ready some fine white gum-arabic, put a tablesiwonful 
with the sugar (say half a pound of sugar), and make it 
into a firm paste ; if too wet, add more sugar, flavor with 
lemon and a tiny speck of tartaric acid or a very little lem- 
on juice. Make the paste into small balls, then take more 
sugar and make it into icing with a spoonful of Santa 
Cruz rum and half the white of an Qgg. Try if it 



French Candy at Home. 95, 

hardens, if not, beat in more sugar and color it a bright 
pink, then dip each ball in the pink icing and harden 
on wax paper. These are very novel, beautiful to look 
at, and the flavors may vary to taste. 

To MAKE Cochineal CoLOKii^G which is quite 
Harmless. — Take one ounce of powdered cochineal, 
one ounce of cream of tartar, two drachms of alum, 
half a pint of water ; boil the cochineal, water, and 
cream of tartar till reduced to one half, then add the 
alum, and put up in small bottles for use. Yellow is 
obtained by the infusion of Spanish saffron in a little 
water, or a still better one from the grated rind of a 
ripe orange put into muslin, and a little of the juice 
squeezed through it. 

Be careful in boiling the sugar im fondant, not to stir 
it after it is dissolved ; stirring causes it to become rough 
instead of creamy. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

A CHAPTER FOR rKOPLE OF VERY SMALL MEANS. 

I AM sorry to say in these days tliis chapter may ap- 
peal to many, who arc yet not to be called "poor peo- 
ple/' who may have been well-to-do and only jsntfering 
from tlie pressure of the times, and for whose cultivated 
appetites the coarse, substjintial food of the laboring man 
(even if they could buy it) would not be eatable, who 
must have what they do have good, or starve. But, as 
some of the things for which I give recipes will seem 
over-economical for pe()])le who can alTord to buy meat 
at least once a day, 1 advise those who have even iifiy 
dollars ji month income to skip it; reminding them, if 
they do not, *^that necessity knows no law." 

A bone of soup meat can be got at a good butcher's 
for ten or fifteen cen^^s, and is about the best invest- 
ment, for that sum I know of, ns two nourishing and 
savoi'y meals, at least, for four or live persons can be 
got from it. 

Carefully make a nice soup, with plenty of vegetables, 
rice, or any other thickening you like. Your bone will 
weigh from four to six pounds, perha])S ; put it on with 
water according to size, and let it boil down slowly until 
nice and strong. If you have had any scraps of meat or 
bones, put them also to your soup. 

When you serve it, keep back a cup of soup and a few 

96 



Chapter for People of Very Small Means. 97 

of the vegetables, and save the meat, xrom Avhich you 
can make a very appetizing hash in the following way : 
Take the meat from the bone, chop it with some cold 
potatoes and the vegetables you saved from the soup. 
Cold stewed onions, boiled carrots or turnips, all help to 
make the dish savory. Chop an onion very fine, unless 
yon have cold ones, a little parsley and thyme, if liked, 
and sometimes, for variety's sake, if you have it, a pinch 
of curry powder, not enough to make it hot or yellow, 
yet to impart piquancy. If you have a tiny bit of fried 
bacon or cold ham or cold pork, chop it with the other 
ingredients, mix all well, moisten with the cold soup, 
and, when nicely seasoned, put the hash into an iron 
frying-pan, in which you have a little fat made hot ; 
pack it smoothly in, cover it with a pot-lid, and either 
set it in a hot oven, or leave it to brown on the stove. 
If there was more soup than enough to moisten the hash, 
put it on in a tiny saucepan, with a little brown flour 
made into a paste with butter, add a drop of tomato cat- 
sup, or a little stewed tomato, or anything you have for 
flavoring, and stir till it boils. Then turn the hash out 
whole on a dish, it should be brown and crisp, pour the 
gravy you have made round it, and serve. For a change 
make a pie of the hash, pouring the gravy in through 
a hole in the top when done. 

It is not generally known that a very nice plain paste 
can be made with a piece of bread dough, to which you 
have added an Qgg, and some lard, dripping, or butter. 
The dripping is particularly nice for the hash pie, and, 
as you need only a piece of dough as large as an orange, 
you will probably have enough from the soup, if you 
skimmed off all the fat before putting the vegetables in 
{^QQ pot-au-feu) ; work your dripping into the dough,. 
'5 



•98 Culture and Cookiyig. 

and let it rise well, then roll as ordinary pie-crust. Po- 
tato crust is also very good for plain pies of any sort, but 
as there are plenty of recipes for it, I will not give one 
here. 

One of the very best hashes I ever ate was prepared 
by a lady who, in better times, kept a very fine table. 
And she told me there were a good many cold beans 
in it, well mashed ; and often since, when taking ^trav- 
elers' hash" in an hotel^ I have thought of that savory 
dish with regret. 

Instead of making your chopped meat into hash, vary 
it, by rolling the same mixture into egg-shaped pieces, 
or flat cakes, flouring them, and frying them nicely in 
very hot fat ; pieces of pork or bacon fried and laid 
round will help out the dish, and be an improvement 
to what is already very good. 

To return once more to the soup bone. If any one of 
■your family is fond of marrow, seal up each end of the 
bone with a paste made of flour and water. When done, 
take off the paste, and remove the marrow. Made very 
hot, and spread on toast, with pepper and salt, it will be 
a relish for some one's tea or breakfast. 

In this country there is a prejudice against sheep's 
liver ; while in England, where beef liver is looked upon 
as too coarse to eat (and falls to the lot of the ^^ cats- 
meat man," or cat butcher), sheep's is esteemed next to 
calf's, and it is, in fact, more delicate than beef liver. 
The nicest way to cook it is in very thin slices (not the 
inch-thick pieces one often sees), each slice dipped in 
flour and fried in pork or bacon fat, and pork or bacon 
served with it. But the more economical way is to put 
it in a pan, dredge it with flour, pin some fat pork over 
it, and set it in a hot oven ; when very brown take it out ; 



»^ 



Chapter for People of Very Small Means. 99 

make nice brown gravy by pouring water in the pan and 
letting it boil on the stove, stirring it well to dissolve the 
glaze ; pour into the dish, and serve. The heart should 
be stuffed with bread-crumbs, parsley, thyme, and a lit- 
tle onion, and baked separately. Oj-, for a change, you 
may chop the liver up with a few sweet herbs and a lit- 
tle pork (onion, or not, as you like), and some bread- 
crumbs. Put all together in a crock, dredge with flour, 
cover, and set in a slow oven for an hour and a half ; 
then serve, with toasted bread around the dish. 

It is very poor economy to buy inferior meat. One 
pound of fine beef has more nourishment than two of 
poor quality. But there is a great difference in prices of 
different parts of meat, and it is better management to 
choose the cheap part of fine beef than to buy the sir- 
loin of a poor ox even at the same price ; and, by good 
cooking many parts not usually chosen, and therefore 
sold cheaply, can be made very good. Yet you must 
remember, that a piece of meat at seven cents a pound, 
in which there is at least half fat and bone, such as 
brisket, etc., is less economical than solid meat at ten or 
twelve. 

Pot roasts are very good for parts of meat not tender 
enough for roasting, the ''cross-rib," as some butch- 
ers term it, being very good for this purpose ; it is all 
solid meat, and being very lean, requires a little fat pork, 
which may be laid at the bot'om of the pot ; or better 
still, holes made in the meat and pieces of the fat drawn 
through, larding in a rough way, so that they cut to- 
gether. A pot roast is best put on in an iron pot, with- 
out water, allowed to get finely brown on one side, then 
turned, and when thoroughly brown on the other a little 
water may be added for gravy ; chop parsley or any 



lOO Culture and Cooking, 

seasoning that is preferred. Give your roast at least 
three hours to cook. Ox cheek, as the head is called, is 
very good, and should be very cheap ; prepare it thus : 

Clean the cheek, soak it in water six hours, and cut 
the meat from the bones, which break up for soup ; 
then take the meat, cut into neat pieces, put it in an 
earthen crock, a layer of beef, some thin pieces of pork 
or bacon, some onions, carrots, and turnips, cut tliin, or 
chopped fine, and sprinkled over the meat ; also, some 
chopped parsley, a little thyme, and bay leaf, pepper 
and salt, and a clove to each layer ; then more beef and 
a little pork, vegetables, and seasoning, as before. When 
all your meat is in pour over it, if you have it, a tum- 
bler of hard cider and one of water, or else two of water, 
in which put a half gill of vinegar. If you have no 
tight-fitting cover to your crock, put a paste of flour and 
water over it to keep the steam in. Place the crock in a 
slow oven five or six hours, and when it is taken out re- 
move the crust and skim. Any piece of beef cooked in 
this way is excellent. 

Ox heart is one of the cheapest of dishes, and really 
remarkably nice, and it is much used by economical peo- 
ple abroad. 

The heart should be soaked in vinegar and water three 
or four hours, then cut off the lobes and gristle, and 
stuff it with fat pork chopped, bread-crumbs, parsley, 
thyme, pepper, and salt ; then tie it in a cloth and very 
slowly simmer it (large end up) for two hours ; take it 
up, remove the cloth, and flour it, and roast it a nice 
brown. Lay in the pan in which it is to be roasted some 
fat pork to baste it. Any of this left over is excellent 
hashed, or, warmed in slices with a rich brown gravy, can- 
not be told from game. Another way is to stuff it with 



Chapter for People of Very Small Means. lOi 

sage and onions. It must always be served very liot with 
hot plates and on a very hot dish. 

Fore quarter of mutton is another very economical part 
of meat, if you get your butcher to cut it so that it may 
not only be economical, but really afford a choice joint. 
Do not then let him hack the shoulder across, but, before 
he does a thing to it, get him to take the shoulder out in 
a round plate-shaped joint, with knuckle attached ; if 
he does this well, that is, cuts it close to the bone of the 
ribs, you will have a nice joint ; then do not have it 
chopped at all ; this should be roasted in the oven very 
nicely, and served with onion sauce or stewed onions. If 
onions are not liked, mashed turnips are the appro- 
priate vegetable. This joint, to be enjoyed, must be 
properly carved, and that is, across the middle from the 
edge to the bone, the same as a leg of mutton ; and like 
the leg, you must learn, as I cannot describe it in words, 
where the bone lies, then have that side nearest you and 
cut from the opposite side. 

You have, besides this joint, another roast from the 
ribs, or else cut it up into chops till you come to the 
part under the shoulder ; from this the breast should be 
separated and both either made into a good Irish stew, 
or the breast prepared alone in a way I shall describe, 
the neck and thin ribs being stewed or boiled. 

The neck of mutton is very tender boiled and served 
with parsley or caper sauce ; the liquor it is boiled in 
served as broth, with vegetables and rice, or prepared as 
directed in a former chapter for the broth from leg of 
mutton. 

The mode I am^ about to give of preparing breast of 
mutton was told me by a Welsh lady of rank, at whose 
table I ate it (it apjieared as a side dish), and who said. 



I02 Culture and Cooking. 

half laughingly, '^ Will you take some ^ fluff ' ? We are 
very fond of it, but breast of mutton is such a despised 
dish I never expect any one else to like it." I took it, 
on my principle of trying everything, and did find it 
very good. This lady told me that, having of course a 
good deal of mutton killed on her father's estate, and the 
breast being always despised by the servants, she had in- 
vented a way of using it to avoid waste. Her w\^y was this: 

Set the breast of mutton on the fire whole, just cov- 
ered with water in which is a little salt. When it comes 
to the boil draw it back and Jet it simmer three hours ; 
then take it up and draw out the bones, and lay a force- 
meat of bread-crumbs, parsley, tliyme, chopped suet, 
salt and pepper all over it ; double or roll it, skewer it, 
and coat it thickly with Qgg and bread-crumbs ; then 
bake in a moderate oven, basting it often with nice drip- 
ping or butter ; when nicely brown it is done, and eats 
like the tenderest lamb. It was, when I saw it, served on 
a bed of spinach. I like it better on a bed of stewed 
onions. 

I now ffive some dishes made without meat. 

Eagout of Cucumber and Onions.— Fry equal 
quantities of large cucumbers and onions in slices until 
they are a nice brown. The cucumber will brown more 
easily if cut up and put to drain some time before using ; 
then flour each slice. When both are brown, pour on 
them a cup of water, and let them stew for half an hour ; 
then take a good piece of butter in which you have 
worked a dessert-spoonful of flour (browned) ; add pep- 
per, salt, and a little tomato catsup or stewed tomato. 
This is a rich-eating dish if nicely made, and will help 
out cold meat or a scant quantity of it very well. A 
little cold meat may be added if you have it. 



Chapter for People of Very Small Means. 103 

Onion" Soup. — Fry six large onions cut into slices 
with a quarter of a pound of butter till tliey are of a 
bright brown, then well mix in a tablespoonful of flour, 
and pour on them rather more than a quart of water. 
Stew gently until the onions are quite tender, season 
with a spoonful of salt and a little sugar ; stir in quickly 
a liaison made with the yolks of two eggs mixed with 
a gill of milk or cream (do not let it boil afterwards), 
put some toast in a tureen, and serve very hot. 

Pea Soup. — Steep some yellow split peas all night, next 
morning set them on to boil with two quarts of water to a 
pint of peas ; in the water put a tiny bit of soda. In an- 
other pot put a large carrot, a turnip, an onion, and a 
large head of celery, all cut small and covered with water. 
When both peas and vegetables are tender, put them 
together, season with salt, pepper, and a little sugar, 
and let them gently stew till thick enough ; then strain 
through a colander, rubbing the vegetables well, and 
return to the pot while you fry some sippets of bread a 
crisp brown ; then stir into the soup two ounces of but- 
ter in which you have rolled a little flour. 

This soup is simply delicious, and the fact of it being 
maigre will not be remembered. 

Potato Soup is another of this good kind, for meat is 
scarcely required, so good is it without. 

Boil some potatoes, then rub them through a colandar 
into two quarts of hot milk (skimmed does quite well); 
have some fine-chopped parsley and onion, add both 
with salt and pepper, stew three quarters of an hour ; 
then stir in a large piece of butter, and beat two eggs 
with a little cold milk, stir in quickly, and serve with 
fried bread. There should be potatoes enough to make 
the soup as thick as cream. 



104 Culture and Cooking. 

Do not be prejudiced against a dish because there is 
no meat in it, and you think it cannot be nourishing. 
This chapter is not written for those with whom meat, 
or money, is plentiful ; and if it be true that man is 
nourished " not by what he eats, but by what he assim- 
ilates," and, according to an American medical author- 
ity, '^ what is eaten with distaste is not assimilated " 
(Dr. Hall), it follows that an enjoyable dinner, even 
without meat, will be more nourishing than one forced 
down because it lacks savor ; that potato soup will be 
more nourishing than potatoes and butter, with a cup of 
milk to drink, because more enjoyable. Yet it costs no 
more, for the soup can be made without the eggs if they 
are scarce. 

Or say bread and butter and onions. They will not 
be very appetizing, especially if they had to be a fre- 
quent meal, yet onion soup is made from the same ma- 
terials, and in France is a very favorite dish, even with 
those well able to put meat in it if they wished. 



CHAPTER XV. 

A FEW THINGS IT IS WELL TO REMEMBER. 

Every housekeeper has pet '^ wrinkles" of her own 
which she thinks are especially valuable ; some are 
known to all the world, others are new to many. So 
it may be with mine ; but, on the chance that some few 
things are as new to my friends as they were to me, I 
jot them down without any pretense of order or regu- 
larity. 

Lemons will keep fresher and better in water than any 
other way. Put them in a crock, cover them with water. 
They will in winter keep two or three months, and the 
peel be as fresh as the day they were put in. Take care, 
of course, that they do not get frosted. In summer 
change the water twice a week ; they will keep a long 
time. 

In grating nutmegs begin at the flower end ; if you 
commence at the other, there will be a hole all the way 
through. 

Tea or coffee made hot (not at all scorched), before 
water is added, are more fragrant and stronger. Thus, 
by putting three spoonfuls of tea in the pot and setting 
in a warm place before infusing, it will be as strong as 
if you make tea with four spoonfuls without warming it, 
and much more fragrant. 

Vegetables that are strong can be made much milder 
5» 105 



io6 Culture and Cooking. 

by tying a bit of brejid in a clean rag and boiling it with 
them. 

Bread dough is just as good made the day before it is 
used ; thus, a small family can have fresh bread one day, 
rolls the next, by putting the dough in a cold place en- 
veloped in a damp cloth. In winter, kept cold, yet not 
in danger of freezing, it will keep a week. 

Celery seed takes the place of celery for soup or stews 
when it is scarce ; parsley seed of parsley. 

Green beans, gherkins, etc., put down when plentiful 
in layers of rock salt, will kcej) crisp and green for 
months, and can be taken out and pickled when con- 
venient. 

Lemon or orange peel grated and mixed with powdered 
sugar and a squeeze of its own juice (the sugar making 
it into paste) is excellent to keep for flavoring ; put it 
into a little ])ot and it will keep for a year. 

Bread that is very stale may be made quite fresh for 
an hour or two by dipping it quickly into milk or water, 
and putting it in a brisk oven till quite hot through. It 
must be eaten at once, or it will be as stale as ever when 
cold. 

Meat to be kept in warm weather should be rubbed over 
with salad oil, every crevice filled with ginger ; meat tliat 
is for roasting or frying is much better preserved in this 
way than with salt ; take care that every part of the sur- 
face has a coat of oil. Steaks or chops cut off, which 
always keep badly, should be dipped into warm butter or 
even dripping, if oil is not handy (the object being to 
exclude the air), and then hung up till wanted. 

Mutton in cold weather should be hung four or five 
weeks in a ])lace not subject to changes of temperature, 
and before it is so hung, every crevice filled with ginger 



A Few Things it is Well to Remember. 107 

and thoroughly dredged with flour, which must be then 
rubbed in with the hand till the surface is quite dry. 
This is the English fashion of keeping venison. 

It may be useful for those who burn kerosene to know 
that when their lamps smell, give a bad light, and smoke, 
it is not necessary to buy new burners. Put the old 
ones in an old saucepan with water and a tablespoonful 
of soda, let them boil half an hour, wipe them, and 
your trouble will be over. 

Meat that has become slightly tainted may be quite 
restored by washing it in water in which is a teaspoonful 
of borax, cutting away every part in the least discolored. 

In summer when meat comes from the butcher's, if it 
is not going to be used the same day, it should be washed 
over with vinegar. 

Poultry in summer should always have a piece of 
charcoal tied in a rag placed in the stomach, to be re- 
moved before cooking. Pieces of charcoal should also 
be put in the refrigerator and changed often. 

Oyster shells put one at a time in a stove that is 
^'clinkered" will clean the bricks entirely. They 
should be put in when the fire is burning brightly. 

Salt and soapstone powder (to be bought at the drug- 
gist's) mend fire brick ; use equal quantities, make into a 
paste with water, and cement the brick ; they will be as 
strong as new ones. 

Ink spilled on carpets may be entirely removed by 
rubbing while wet with blotting paper, using fresh as 
it soils. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

ON SOME TABLE PREJUDICES. 

Many people have strong prejudices against certain 
things which they have never even tasted, or which they 
do frequently take and like as a part of something else, 
without knowing it. How common it is to hear and 
see untraveled people declare that they dislike garlic, 
and could not touch anything with it in. Yet those 
very people will take Worcestershire sauce, in which gar- 
lic is actually predominant, with everything they eat ; 
and think none but English pickles eatable, which 
owe much of their excellence to the introduction of a 
soupgon of garlic. Therefore I beg those who actually 
only know garlic from hearsay abuse of it, or from its 
presence on the breath of some inveterate garlic eater, 
to give it a fair trial when it appears in a recipe. It is 
just one of those things that require the most delicate 
handling, for which the French term a ** suspicio7i " is 
most appreciated ; it should only be a suspicion, its 
presence should never be pronounced. As Blot once 
begged his readers, "Give garlic a fair trial in a remo- 
lade sauce." (Montpellier butter beaten into mayonnaise 
is a good remolade for cold meat or fish.) 

Curry is one of those things against which man}^ are 
strongly prejudiced, and I am inclined to think it is 

108 



Ott Some Table Prejudices. 109 

quite an acquired taste, but a taste which is an envi- 
able one to its possessors ; for them there is endless 
variety in all they eat. The capabilities of curry are 
very little known in this country, and, as the taste for 
It IS so limited, I will not do more in its defense than 
indicate a pleasant use to which it may be put, and iu 
which form it would be a welcome condiment to many 
to whom "a curry," pure and simple, would be obnox- 
ious. I once knew an Anglo-Indian who used curry as 
most people use cayenne ; it was put in a pepper-box 
and with it he would at times pepper his fish or kidneys^ 
even his eggs. Used in this way, it imparts a delightful 
piquancy to food, and is neither hot nor " spicy " 

Few people are so prejudiced as the English generallv 
and the stay-at-home Americans ; but the latter are to 
be taught by travel, the Englishman rarely 

The average Briton leaves his island shores with the 
conviction that he will get nothing fit to eat tilfh get 
back, and that he will have to be uncommonly carrfu 
once across the channel, or he will be having fricasseed 

honoi of frogs, he does not know that the Paris res- 
taurateur who should give the costly frog for chiokei 
would soon end in the bankruptcy court 

and ,IL!, "'''1''! °'r'^ ^'* ^ '^"''"* ''••^°«'-' « go«d roast 

an d EnJr . ' 7°"''' ''^' P™^ '»"'='' better," said 
an old Englishman to me once in that gay city. 

"But surely you can." 

P«lll?f '" V'^'J! "T" *" '•e^taurants of every class, and 
called for beefsteak and roast beef, but have never got 
the real article although it's my belief," said he, lean- 
ng forward solemnly, "that I have eaten horse three 
times this week." Of course the Englishman of ra^^ 



no Culture and Cooking. 

who has spent half his life on the continent, is not at all 
the average Englishman. 

Americans think the hare and rabbits, of which the 
English make such good nse, very mean food indeed, 
and if they are unprejudiced enough to try them, from 
the fact that they are never well cooked, they dislike 
them, which prejudice the English reciprocate by look- 
ing on squirrels as being as little fit for food as a rat. 
And a familiar instance of prejudice from ignorance 
carried even to insanity, is that of the Irish in 1848, 
starving rather than eat the ''yaller male," sent them 
by generous American sympathizers ; yet they come here 
and soon- get over that dislike. Not so the French, who 
look on oatmeal and Indian meal as most unwholesome 
food. " (7« pese sur Vestomac, ga creuse Vestomac,''^ I 
heard an old Frenchwoman say, trying to dissuade a 
mother from giving her children mush. 

The moral of all of which is, that for our comfort's 
sake, and the general good we should avoid unreason- 
able prejudices against unfamiliar food. We of course 
have a right to our honest dislikes ; but to condemn 
things because we have heard them despised, is pre- 
judice. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

A CHAPTER OF ODDS AKD ENDS. 

I HAVE alluded, in an earlier chapter, to the fact that 
many inexperienced cooks are afraid of altering recipes ; 
a few words on this subject may not be out of place. As 
a rule, a recipe should be faithfully followed in all im- 
portant points ; for instance, in making soup you can- 
not, because you are short of the given quantity of meat, 
put the same amount of water as directed for the full 
quantity, without damaging your soup ; but you may eas- 
ily reduce water and every other ingredient in the same 
proportion ; and, in mere matters of flavoring, you may 
vary to suit circumstances. If you are told to use cloves, 
and have none, a bit of mace may be substituted. 

If you read a recipe, and it calls for something you 
have not, consider whether that something has anything 
to do with the substance of the dish, or whether it is 
merely an. accessory for which something else can be 
substituted. For instance, if you are ordered to use 
cream in a sauce, milk with a larger amount of well- 
washed butter may take its place ; but if you are told to 
use cream for charlotte russe or trifles, there is no way in 
which you could make milk serve, since it is not an 
accessory but the chief part of those dishes. For a 
cake in which cream is used, butter whipped to a cream 
may take its place. Wine is usually optional in savory 
dishes ; it gives richness only. 

Ill 



112 Culture and Cooking. 

Again, in cakes be very careful the exact proportions 
of flour, eggs, and milk are observed ; of butter you can 
generally use more or less, having a more or less rich 
cake in proportion. In any but plain cup cakes (which 
greatly depend on soda and acid for their lightness) 
never lessen the allowance of eggs ; never add milk if a 
cake is too stiff (but an extra Qgg may always be used), 
unless milk is ordered in the recipe, when more or less 
may be used as needed. Flavoring may be always varied. 

In reducing a recipe always reduce every ingredie7it, 
and it can make no difference in the results. Some- 
times, in cookery books, you are told to use articles not 
frequently found in ordinary kitchens ; for instance, a 
larding-needle (although that can be bought for twenty- 
five cents at any house-furnishiug store, and should al- 
ways be in a kitchen) ; but, in case you have not one for 
meat, you may manage by making small cuts and insert- 
ing slips of bacon. 

Another article that is very useful, but seldom, if ever, 
to be found in small kitchens, is a salamander ; but when 
yon wish to brown the top of a dish, and putting it in 
the oven would not do, or the oven is not quick enough 
to serve, an iron shovel, made nearly red, and a few red 
cinders in it, is a very good salamander. It must be 
held over the article that requires browning near enough 
to color it, yet not to burn. 

In the recipes I have given nothing is required that 
cannot be obtained, with more or less ease, in j^ew York. 
For syrups, fruit juices, etc., apply to your druggist; if 
he has not them he will tell you where to obtain them. 
We often make up our minds that because a thing is not 
commonly used in this country, it is impossible to get it. 
Eeally there are very few things not to be got in New 



Chapter of Odds and Ends, 113, 

York City to the intelligent seeker. You need an arti- 
cle of French or Italian or may be English grocery, that 
your grocer, a first-class one, perhaps, has not, and you 
make up your mind you cannot get it. But go into the 
quarters where French people live, and you can get 
everything belonging to the French cuisine. So preju- 
diced are the French in favor of the productions of la 
telle France, that they do not believe in our parsley or 
our chives or garlic or shallots ; for I know at least one 
French grocer who imports them for his customers. On 
being asked why he brought them from France to a 
country where those very things were plentiful, he an- 
swered : 

*'0h, French herbs are much finer." 

Needless to say tarragon is one of the herbs so import- 
ed, and can thus be bought ; but, as several New Jersey 
truck gardeners grow all kinds of French herbs, they can 
be got in Washington Market, and most druggists keep 
them dried ; but for salads, Montpellier butter, and some 
other uses, the dried herb would not do, although for 
flavoring it would serve ; but the far better way is to 
grow them for yourself, as I have done. Any large 
seedsman will supply you with burnet, tarragon, and 
borage (very useful for salads, punch, etc.) seeds, and if 
you live in the country, have an herb bed ; if in town, 
there are few houses where there is not ground enough 
to serve for the j^urpose ; but even in these few houses 
one can have a box of earth in the kitchen window, in 
which your seeds will flourish. 

Parsley is a thing in almost daily request in winter, 

yet it is very expensive to buy it constantly for the sake 

of using the small spray that often suffices. It is a good 

plan, therefore, in fall, to get a few roots, plant them in 

8 



114 Culture ajid Cooking, 

a pot or box, and they will flourish all winter, if kept 
where they will not freeze, and be ready for garnishing 
at any minute. 

Always, as far as your means allow, have every con- 
venience for cooking. l^y having utensils proper for 
every purpose you save a great deal of work and much 
vexation of spirit. Yet it should be no excuse for bad 
work that such utensils are not at hand. A willing and 
intelligent cook will make the best of what she has. 
Apropos of this very thing Gouffe relates that a friend 
of his, an "artist" of renown, was sent for to the 
chateau of a Baron Argenteuil, wlio had taken a large 
company with him, unexpectedly crowding the chateau 
in every part. lie was shown into a dark passage in 
which a plank was suspended from the ceiling, and told 
this was to be his kitchen. He had to fashion his own 
utensils, for there was nothing provided, and his pastry 
he had to bake in a frying-pan — besides building two 
monumental ^Z^/^s on that board — and prepare a colde?^- 
tree. But he cheerfully set to work to overcome diffi- 
culties, achieved his task, and was rewarded by the plau- 
dits of the diners. Such difficulties as these our servants 
never have to encounter, and a cheerful endeavor to 
make the best of everything should be the rule. Yet, 
let us spare them all the labor we can, or rather make it 
as easy and pleasant as possible ; they will be more 
proud of their well-furnished kitchen, more cheerful in 
it, than they will of one where everything for their con- 
venience is grudged, and such pride and cheerfulness 
will be your gain. 

There is always a great deal of talk about servants in 
America, how bad and inefficient they are, how badly 
they contrast with those of England. Certainly, they 



Chapter of Odds and Ends 1 1 5 

are not so efficient as those of the older countr}^ ; how 
could they be ? There, girls who are intended for servants 
have ever held before their eyes what they may or may 
not do in the future calling, and how it is to be done. 
But take one of these orderly, efficient girls, put her in 
an American family as general servant or as cook, where 
two are kept, washing and ironing to do, and a variety 
of other work, and see how your English servant would 
stare at your requirements. She has been accustomed to 
her own line of work at home ; if housemaid, she has 
been dressed for the day at noon ; if cook, she has never 
done even her own washing. 

She may, and will no doubt, fall into the way of the 
country, after a while, and on account of her early habits 
of respect, will make a good servant perhaps. But many 
of them would be quite indignant at being asked to do 
the average servant's work here. I am speaking now of 
the trained servants ; but, comparing the London '' maid- 
of-all-work" or ^^ slavey " with our own general servants, 
and considering how much more is expected of the latter, 
the comparison seems to me vastly in the favor of our own 
Bridgets. We may rest assured, however smoothly the 
wheels of household management glide along in wealthy 
families across the water, people who can only keep one 
or two have all our troubles with servants and a few 
added, and their faults are just as general a subject of 
conversation among ladies. 

France (out of Paris, from Parisian servants deliver 
me ! ) and Germany seem the favored lands where one 
servant does the work of three or four. Yet even they, 
are, they say, degenerating. Let us, then, be contented 
and make the best of what we have, assured that even 
Biddy is not so hopeless as she is painted. Kindness 



ii6 Culture aiid Cooking. 

(not weakness), firmness, and patience work wonders, 
even with the roughest Emerald that ever crossed the 
sea. 

I have said somewhere else that you must beware of at- 
tempting too much at once ; perfect yourself in one thing 
before you attempt another. Take breaded chops or 
fried oysters, make opportunities for having them rather 
often, and do not rest satisfied until you have them as 
well fried as you have ever seen them anywhere ; *^ prac- 
tice makes perfect," and you certainly will achieve per- 
fection if you are not discouraged by one failure. But 
above all things never make experiments for company ; 
let them be made when it really matters little whether 
you succeed or not, and let your experiments be on a 
small scale ; don't attempt to fry a large dish of oysters 
or chops until it is a very easy task, or make more than 
half a pound of puff paste at first ; for if you fail with a 
large task before you, you will be tired and disheartened, 
hate the sight of what you are doing, and, as a conse- 
quence, not be likely to return to it very soon. The same 
may be said of cooks ; some of them are very fond of ex- 
periments, which taste I should always encourage ; but do 
not let them jump from one experiment to the other ; 
if they try a dish and fail, they often make up their 
minds that the fault is not theirs, that it is not worth 
while to *' bother " with it. Here your knowledge will be 
of service ; you will show them that it can be done, how 
it should be done, and order the dish cook failed in, fre- 
quently, giving it sufficient surveillance to prevent your 
family suffering from her inexperience ; for, as a witty 
Frenchman said of Mme. du Deffaud's cook, ^^ Between 
her and Brinvilliers there is only the difference of in- 
tention." 



Chapter of Odds and Ends. 117 

Few things add more to a man or woman's social repu- 
tation than the fact that they keep a good table. It 
need not be one where 

'' The strong table groans 
Beneath the smoking sirloin stretched immense ; " 

but a table where whatever you do have will be good, 
be it pork and beans, or salmi ; the pork and beans 
would satisfy a Bostonian, the salmi Grimod de la Rey- 
niere himself. I do not admit with Di Walcott that 

*' The turnpike road to people's hearts I find 
Lies through their mouths, or I mistake mankind." 

But it is a fact that good living — by this I do not 
mean extravagant living — presupposes good breeding. 
Well-bred people sometimes live badly ; but ill-bred 
people seldom or ever live well, in the right sense of 
the term. 

Now, by way of valedictory, let me repeat that I do 
not think a lady's best or proper place is the kitchen ; 
but it is quite possible to have a perfectly served table, 
yet spend very little time there. Only that one little 
hour a day that Talleyrand, the busy man full of intrigue 
and statecraft, found time to spend with his cook, would 
insure your table being well served.' For, after devoting 
say a few winter months to perfecting yourself in a few 
things, you will be able to teach your cook, who is often 
ambitious to excel if put in the right way. A word here 
about cooks. 

The knowledge that if they fail to do a thing well 
you will do it yourself, will often put them on their 
mettle to do their best ; while the feeling that you don't 
know, will make them careless. 



1 1 8 Culture and Cooking. 

Servants have a great deal more amour propre than 
people imagine ; therefore, stimulate it by judicious 
praise and appreciation ; let them think that to send in a 
dish perfect, is a glory to themselves as well as a pleasure 
to you. While careful to remark when alone with them 
upon any fault that results from carelessness, be equally 
careful to give all the praise you can, and repeat to 
them complimentary remarks that may have been made 
on their skill. Servants are usually — such is the weak- 
ness of feminine nature, whether in the drawing-room 
or the kitchen — very sensitive to the praise or blame of 
the gentlemen of the family. Indulge poor humanity a 
little when you honestly can. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



BREAKFAST BREADS. 



Although breads were very fully treated of in the 
first part of this booK, a few breakfast and tea-cakes 
more quickly made may not be out of place. 

SOUFFLEE ROLLS. 

Melt a tablespoonful of butter in half a pint of milk; 

when blood-warm put in half a cake of compressed 

yeast, a beaten egg, two teaspoonfuls of sugar and a 

saltspoonful of salt. When the yeast is dissolved, stir 

in a cup and a-half of flour well dj'ied and quite warm; 

beat two or three minutes ; it should be too thick for 

batter, and not thick enough for dough — so thick that 

you cannot take it up in a S2:)oon at all; cover with a hot 

cloth, and set it in a warm place ; it will rise in about 

two hours ; if you have time, the texture will be better 

if you beat it down and let it rise again before putting 

it in the tins. They will be very good, however, if you 

simply stir it down well, and with a tablespoon dijijied 

in flour, fill small roll-pans with the batter rather more 

than half full ; let them rise till the pans are full, and 

then bake ten to fifteen minutes in a very quick oven; 

when pale-brown brush them over with a little syrup 

thinned with milk, and bake till quite brown ; be care- 

119 



120 Practical Recipes. 

ful they do not burn — the syrup causes them to do so 
easily. 

SCOTCH SCONES. 

Dissolve half a saltspoonful of soda and two ounces 
of butter or lard in a gill of warmed sour milk ; put 
ten ounces of flour and a little salt in a bowl ; pour the 
mixture in and make it into a stiff dough; roll it out 
into a round cake half an inch thick; mark it in eight 
sections and bake on a griddle fifteen to twenty min- 
utes ; split and butter while hot. 

SCONES NO. 2. 

Melt in half a pint of milk one ounce of butter; beat 
up an ^gg and stir it into the milk; with a saltspoonful 
of salt add enough fine flour mixed with a teaspoonful of 
baking powder to make a very soft dough ; flour the 
board thickly and make into round cakes, the size of a 
small plate, an inch thick ; mark into sections and bake 
twenty minutes on a griddle ; split and butter while 
hot. 

CORN BREAD. 

One quart of milk, three eggs, two cups of Indian 
meal, three cups of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, two 
of cream of tartar, lard half the size of an ^gg, one level 
teaspoon of salt; mix Indian meal and flour; sift cream 
of tartar to them ; stir with the milk into a smooth 
batter; beat the yolks of the eggs; stir them in; melt 
the lard and add it; then beat the whites to a stiff foam 
and stir them in; dissolve the soda in very little boil- 
ing water, and add it last thing; bake in a very quick 
oven. 



Breakfast Breads. I 2 I 

CORN" MUFFIKS* 

One cup of corn-meal, one of flour, a dessert-spoonful 
of butter, two eggs, two small teaspoonfuls of baking- 
powder, one tablespoonful of sugar. 

Mix flour and meal and sugar with enough milk to 
make a stiff batter ; beat the eggs, melt the butter, and 
iidd them to it ; stir in the baking-powder with a small 
teaspoonful of salt. 

EGG BISCUITS. 

Sift with one pint of flour one teaspoonful of baking- 
powder; chop into it a tablespoonful of butter till fine ; 
beat one Qgg and mix it with half a cup of milk — part 
cream is much better; make a hole in the flour ; put in 
a saltspoonful of salt, and pour in the ^gg and milk; 
mix altogether into a soft dough, using more milk if 
needful ; roll out as quickly as possible half an inch 
thick ; cut into rounds and bake in a quick oven. 

BATTER BREAD. 

Two eggs, the whites beaten separately, a small cup 
of flour, the same of milk ; mix yolks, flour and milk 
into a smooth batter ; stir in a tablespoonful of batter 
melted and a little salt ; then add the whites of the 
eggs beaten till they stand high, and a teaspoonful of 
baking-powder ; mix gently after the whites are in ; 
bake in a well-buttered tin in a very hot oven. 

ENGLISH MUFFINS. 

Dissolve a yeast-cake (compressed) in a pint of warm 
water, with a teaspoonful of salt ; mix with as much 



122 Practical Recipes. 

warmed flour as will make a very thick batter — just as 
thick as can be stirred without being dough; set to rise, 
and when like a honeycomb, it is ready; fiovr the griddle, 
which must be moderately hot ; sprinkle some flour in 
a saucer ; take with tablespoon dipped into flour a piece 
of the dough as large as a croquet ball ; drop it in the 
saucer ; swing it round in it till it forms a round mass, 
and drop it on the griddle; do the others the same way; 
do not turn them till they look almost cooked through, 
then brown them on the other side. 

English muffins are never baked in rings, yet if rings 
were made three and a half inches in diameter it would 
save much trouble, for they are too soft to handle, and 
it requires knack and joractice to shape them really well 
with the saucer. 

They are better made the day before they are to be 
eaten; they should be split a little all round, then toasted 
on both sides quite crisp ; rip them open quickly and 
don't attempt to spread butter on them, but lay it in 
little bits all over each piece ; put them together again; 
butter the outside, and cut them once across and set 
them in the oven for the butter to melt ; if you have 
eaten them this way, you will not be satisfied with hav- 
ing them merely made hot in the oven. 

QUICK BISCUIT. 

Chop a tablespoonful of butter or lard in two heaping 
cups of flour in which you have sifted a teaspoonful of 
baking-powder, and half one of salt; wet with miik or 
water enough to make a soft dough that you can just 
roll out ; roll it out half an inch thick and cut with a 
cutter into round cakes. 



Breakfast Breads. I 23 

BUTTERMILK PUFFS. 

To a quart of sharp buttermilk put half a teaspoonful 
of baking-soda ; taste ; if not sweet add a little more ; 
stir into it a teaspoonful of salt, one of sugar, and 
enough flour to make a thick batter that will drop in 
lumps from a spoon ; mix it all up very quickly, then 
drop on a buttered baking- pan in little mounds. 

These require a very hot oven, and will bake in seven 
minutes. If your buttermilk is not rich, rub a little 
butter into the flour till it is like sand ; these should 
only take about twelve minutes from the time you be- 
gin them till they are out of the oven ; they are de- 
licious. 



CHAPTER XIX. 
OMELETTES. 



TRE^S^CH OMELETTE. 

Break four eggs; beat them, but not very much, just 
so that you can take them up without strings; put a 
piece of butter in a verj clean smooth frying-pan and 
let it get hot but not burn; put a saltspoonful of salt in 
the eggs, and pour them in the pan; as the egg sets, shift 
it from the sides with a spoon that the uncooked part may 
run in its place; do not let it quite set; fold it half over; 
shake the pan and slip the omelette off on to a dish. 

This is the true French omelette. It has one drawback, 
it must be eaten at once or it will be tough and heavy. 
The addition of a little milk — a tablespoonful to two 
eggs — tends to prevent it getting tough so quickly. 
Neither of these omelettes can be kept, not even for a 
minute, and for that reason where you are not sure of 
your cook, and do not want to make the dish with your 
own hands, I recommend the one mentioned on page 45. 
It is good till cold and always handsome, yet true ome- 
lette lovers would not approve of it. 

Any kind of savory omelette is but a variation on this 
plain one. 

TOMATO OMELETTE, (tWO WAYS). 

Make some good tomato sauce — see recipe — very hot, 
pour it in the dish round the omelette. 

I 2d. 



Omelettes. I 2 5 

Or, Make some stewed tomato hot; lay two table- 
spoonfuls of it on the omelette before you double it 
over. 

OYSTER OMELETTE. 

Fricassee some oysters as for oyster patties; lay them 
on the omelette before folding it. 

MUSHROOM OMELETTE. 

Use stewed mushrooms as directed for oysters and 
tomatoes. 

HAM OMELETTE. 

May have a little cooked ham chopped and put in before 
frying, or delicately shaved cold ham may be made hot 
and laid between the omelette. 

In short, there are innumerable ways of varying ome- 
lettes which it would be mere repetition to give here. 



CHAPTER XX. 
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS. 



CARAMEL FOR COLORING. 

Put four tablespoonfuls of sugar in a small thick 
saucepan, with two tablespoonfuls of water; let them boil 
ten minutes over a quick fire; then watch it till it colors 
golden; it will soon go from this to dark-brown; when it 
is all Mack like thick molasses, pnt a half cup of hot 
water to it; it will sputter, but never mind that; stir till 
it is all dissolved; then let it boil till it is syrup; pour it 
into a bottle; it should look when cold like black molas- 
ses and will keep for years. 

BOUQUET OF SWEET HERBS. 

Tie together two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, one 
bay leaf, wrapping them round so that they will not 
shed, and be easy to take out of the gravy or soup. 

TO CHOP HERBS. 

Always use the leaves only, never the stems; gather 
the leaves firmly between the thumb and three fin- 
gers of the left hand; let a sharp knife shave them 
through as you push them forw^ard under it; turn them 
round; gather them up again and cut them across in the 
same way; then finish by chopping with both hands. 

126 



General Instructions. I 2 7 

This is the way to get them finely and evenly 
CHOPPED. When sweet herbs iire called for, it means 
three parts parsley, two parts thyme, one part mar- 
joram. 

GARNISHING. 

No matter how well a dinner may be cooked if it is 
ill served it will lose a great deal. Everybody should 
insist on the dishes being well arranged, and trimmed 
or garnished before they are sent to table. 

Corned beef is a very homely dish, yet if the carrots and 
turnips are cut into nice forms and served round it 
alternately, with here and there a sprig of green ])ars- 
ley, it will look far more appetizing than if it is on a. 
bare dish, and so it is with most other things, from 
hash to croquettes. 

Parsley is probably the most useful garnish wc have, 
yet a dish garnished with parsley does not mean a. 
kitchen-garden of it, and the tendency is usually to 
overdo. The mere fact, that you insist on the dishes 
being made to look their best, tends to make a. 
cook careful in her cooking. They are impressed with 
the fact that the slap-dash method will not do. An 
Hibernian damsel applied to me for a place, and in awe- 
struck tones, as if it enhanced her own value to be so 
near the rose, told me her sister was cook to Mr. Y., 
who never had a dish sent to table without *' Varnish." 
My thoughts flew to ^* glaze," and as it was rather an 
advanced form of cooking for our locality, I asked if she 
herself knew how to make the *' Varnish." A bewil- 
dered look passed over her face, a suspicion that I was 
laughing at her, as she said in a tone of dignified rebukes 
''It grows;" so I knew her '^ Varnish " was ^^ garnish,^'' 
her one idea of ^* garnish " parsley. 



128 Practical Recipes. 

Fried parsley is suitable for any liglit brown article, 
such as savory patties, croquettes, cromesquis, sweet- 
breads, etc.; and it makes a change from the too per- 
vasive uncooked article, pretty as it is. 

For hot dishes with brown gravy, fried bread cut into 
pretty shapes will not take two minutes, or as they will 
keep a month in cool weather many may be prepared 
when there is leisure, and made quite hot in a slow 
oven. They will not be so nice, yet better than sod- 
den toasted sippets. 

White dishes such as fricassee are very nicely gar- 
nished with little ornaments of puff paste glazed with o^gg 
and baked a pale brown. Clubs, hearts, diamonds and 
spades cut out of carrots, beetroot, and English pickled 
walnuts and scattered over a white entree makes a novel 
garnish. But the ways are many and open to any one's 
invention, only take care that the garnish suits the dish. 

I am unorthodox enough to think that flowers do not 
suit salad unless they are the flowers of a vegetable, or 
salad i^lant, such as nasturtiums and scarlet runner blos- 
soms, bean or pea blossoms, etc. To me flowers sug- 
gest sweet things, and are appropriate to fruit dishes. 

FRIED PARSLEY. 

The whole secret is in having fresh curled parsley, 
bright in color, and yerfecilij dry. It is better not 
washed ; therefore never use any but the cleanest. 
Have the fat in the frying-kettle hot enough to brown 
a cube of bread m a few seconds ; put the parsley in a 
frying-basket ; put it in the fat, ixxidi m half a minute , 
if the fat is hot enough, it will be crisp and green ; it 
will break easily when you take it out ; lay it on blot- 
ting-paper or grocer's tea-paper to absorb the grease. 



General Instructions. I 29 

Ckoutons, wliicli sound very fine, are just pieces of 
stale bread cut witli a cutter into pretty shapes and 
dropped into the same hot fat ; they will take one 
minute to become golden brown ; never let them be a 
dark color. Nicely-made hash served on the centre of 
small rounds of fried bread, with a little j^arsley, be- 
comes an entree instead of a make-shift dish. 

Eggs carefully broken and dropped into this same 
kettle of boiling fat, and laid round a dish of nice hash, 
make a very different breakfast-dish to one of hash with 
boiled eggs, yet the expense is the same and the trouble 
no more. Once you get used to using the deep frying- 
kcttle, it will be so much easier than the saute — other- 
wise, frying-pan— that you will think nothing of using 
it, and turning out golden wonders even if you are in 
the greatest hurry. Eggs (to return to the subject) 
fried one minute in this way, come out golden-brown 
balls. 

LARDING — DAUBING. 

Larding is a process that requires practice, when it is 
very easy; it means to take a stitch in the surface of meat, 
and is really more ornamental than anything else. For 
purposes of moistening and flavoring dry meats, the 
process called ''daubing" is far better and perfectly 
easy. 

In larding cut the strips of solid salt pork about the 
third of an inch squjire and two inches longf for larcre 
pieces of meat, a quarter of an inch for smaller, and as 
thick as a good straw for poultry. Cut the strips, which 
are called lardoons, parallel to the rind some time before 
you want them, and lay them on ice ; take care they 
are never too large for the needle. Mark the surface of 



1 30 Practical Recipes. 

the meat at equal distances with a knife, then put in 
the larding-needle at the first mark ; push it almost up 
to the end, bringing the point out at the second mark, 
then pull it back, insert the lardoon in it, and bring it 
through, leaving the pork in the meat and an end where 
it entered and where it came out. 

Meat a la daube has holes made through it and pieces 
•of pork as thick as your finger inserted ; they go all 
through the meat. 

TO CRUMB. 

Where you have not a large quantity of ready dried 
and sifted bread-crumbs it is better to use the cracker 
powder that comes in boxes. It is just as economical 
to turn out a whole box when you are crumbing, for. 
what is not used is sifted and leturned to the box. 

To crumb croquettes, cutlets, etc., beat up one or two 
eggs (according as you have many or few articles) with 
a teaspoon of oil and one of water and a little salt, or 
the water may be used alone. 

Have the egg in a saucer, and articles to be crumbed 
on your right, and the cracker meal on your left, a dish 
covered with cracker meal within reach. Dip each ar- 
ticle with the right hand in the egg, lay it on the 
cracker meal with the left, roll it avcII in it and lay it on 
.the dish; do not Avet the left hand in the egg at all. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
FORCEMEATS.— STUFFING. 



FORCEMEATS. 

Many people believe they don't like dishes flavored with 
herbs; yet they dine and enjoy dinner where herbs are 
properly used, and never know the dish they enjoyed 
owed its piquancy to their despised '' yarbs." Ilerbs in 
the hands of an inexperienced or careless jjerson are 
dangerous things — so are spices, and most of the preju- 
dice comes from their association with bad cooking. 

Any attempt to make good forcemeat without herbs 
degenerates into making the first stage of a bread- 
pudding, and omitting everything that makes it good. 

Yet one remedy there is for those who do not want 
wet bread with an onion flavor, yet really cannot eat 
herbs, and that is in sausage-meat. Really good sau- 
sage-meat put into the hreast of a turkey or chicken is 
a great improvement to the bird : its richness moistens 
it and adds much to the flavor ; it must not go into the 
body, or it becomes steamed and unpleasant. 

CHESTNUT FORCEMEAT. 

Peel some Spanish chestnuts ; scald them a few 
minutes to get off the inner skin ; drain them and stew 
them till tender in gravy ; let them get cold and pound 

131 



132 P7'actical Recipes. 

them with an equal quantity of butter and bread- 
crumbs, adding the latter after they are pounded ; season 
with pepper, salt and nutmeg ; bind with the yolks of 
two eggs. 

This is used for turkey, and may be fried in balls to 
garnish it. 

OYSTER FORCEMEAT. 

Take two dozen plump oysters, scald them, chop them 
a little; take an equal quantity of bread-crumbs and 
two ounces of butter ; scald a bit of onion as large as a 
hazel-nut, and chop it very fine ; put in a teaspoonful 
of finely-chopped parsley, asmallsaltspoonful of pepper, 
and two of salt (it must be highly seasoned); squeeze in 
the juice of half a lemon, and bind the whole with the 
yolks of two eggs ; used for turkey, roasted or boiled, or 
may be fried in balls to garnish. 

SAGE AND OXIOK FORCEMEAT, 

for ducks, jDork and goose. 

Boil some white onions till half done ; chop them 
fine ; put as much 1) read- crumbs as there is chopped 
onion, and to about a pint of stuffing put about ten 
sage-leaves, dried till they powder easily. Season with 
salt and pepper, highly. 

ORDINARY VEAL-STUFFING — (sOYER's). 

Chop up half a pound of beef suet very fine .(I sub- 
stitute butter — four ounces); put it in a bowl with 
eight ounces of bread-crumbs, two tablespoonfuls of 
finely-chopped parsley, two teaspoonfuls of equal quan- 
tities of powdered thyme and marjoram, a suspicion of 
lemon-peel grated, and the juice of half a lemon, a 



Fo?xcmeats. — Stuffing. 133 

quarter of a nutmeg, and a teaspoonful of salt ; one- 
sixth of one of pepper ; bind with two yolks of eggs. 
This is suitable for turkey, chickens, or baked fish. 

HOW TO STUFF. 

In stuffing any bird, fish, or piece of meat, avoid 
packing it tightly — there must be room for the stuffing 
to swell ; beside, the stuffing should be well permeated 
with the gravy of the article. Turkeys and chickens 
should be stuffed in the breast, loosening the skin with 
the finger; geese and ducks in the stomach. No more 
should be put in the latter than will go loosely in with- 
out any pressure, or it will come out like steamy 
pudding. 

TO BLAXCH. 

French cooks mean by this term to pour boiling 
water on any article and then to put it immediately 
. in cold water. With almonds it means scalding them to 
take off the skin. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
VEGETABLES. 



TO BOIL VEGETABLES. 

There is not much to add to what has been said in 
the chapter on boiling, in the first part of this book. 
Multiplying recipes is not adding to information; noth- 
ing is more generally s2:>oilt than vegetables, yet the 
simple rules there given would prevent this, and no 
number of recipes would do so. 

It is usually the question of time that destroys boiled 
vegetables; never over-cook them — never put them on 
too early, but each in their time. I give a general order 
each day (knowing the incapacity of average servants to 
remember differences of time unless it is fixed for 
them). 

Put on potatoes just half an hour before dinner- 
time, peas or asparagus ten minutes, cabbage or cauli- 
flower five minutes later, turnips a quarter of an hour, 
and carrots, in fall and early winter, half an hour before 
them; in winter, one hour before the potatoes; and 
alivays put them in boiling water; aliuays make them 
boil up quickly again. 

If you are forced to cook vegetables before they are 
wanted, pour them off directly they are done and throw 
them into cold water; when required drain them, and 
make them hot in the sauce you serve with them; this 

134 



Vegetables. 1 3 5 

is the French method; it preserves color and flavor, and 
leaves the range free for other cooking, and is abso- 
lutely necessary when serving a dinner of many dishes. 

TO CUT VEGETABLES. 

Peel turnips thick; scrape carrots or peel them very 
thin, and cut them into slices the third of an inch 
thick; make three slices in a pile, and cut them across. 

TO CUT AND SHRED VEGETABLES. 

Prepare them as directed; cut carrots, turnips, (or 
onions) in slices the third of an inch thick; then make 
them into piles, three slices in a pile, and cut down 
through them every third of an inch, pushing the piles 
forward with the left hand as the knife comes down. 

These will be about the size to boil and serve with 
white sauce. They need to be cut precisely, not only 
for the appearance, but because if they are unequal in 
size, some will be over-cooked and others under-done. 

TO SHRED FOR SOUP 

Cut the slices much thinner; five or six to the inch; 
hold them in little piles firmly between the left thumb 
and fingers, and cut across each pile evenly, making 
about six cuts to the inch; with a little practice this be- 
comes the quickest way of cutting vegetables, and far 
more nicely than cutting them hap-hazard. 

PREPARATION^ OF VEGETABLES. 

Cauliflower — Should have nearly all the green 
leaves trimmed off, leaving only one circle of the young 
green; lay in cold water to cover them, in which is a 
larcre handful of salt. Then rinse out of this in two 



'to' 



1 2^6 Practical Recipes. 

waters. It may be tied up in an old napkin, whicli 
keeps any speck of scam from it. It should boil till 
the stalk is just tender, about twenty-five minutes, with 
a level saltspoonful of soda, and a tablespoonful of salt 
in the water, which should cover it well; serve with 
Hollandaise or white sauce; and, if liked, a little parme- 
san cheese may be grated over it. 

Cabbage — Is to be cooked in exactly the same man- 
ner, and unless in deep winter, will take no longer; in 
winter allow half an hour — but cabbage requires a large 
j)ot and pletify of Avater; to be frequently pushed down, 
and to boil without a cover as fast as jiossible — "to gal- 
lop " as the common phrase is. You will have then 
no bad odor from it. Take care the pot is large enough 
to prevent the water splashing over on the stove. 

Peas — Require twenty minutes boiling, unless very 
old, in just enough water in which a teaspoonful of 
sugar to each quart is dissolved, and a tea.s230onful of 
salt; serve with plain butter in the dish. 

STRING BEAN'S. 

To look well, these should be most carefully cut slant- 
wise, in thin uniform slices; or if very young, slit them 
the whole length, and cut across twice to make slips an 
inch long, like those that come in the French tins. 

They should never be chopped across, any size from 
half an inch to an inch, as careless cooks so often do. 
They take twenty to twenty-five minutes in well salted 
fast boiling water in which is half a saltspoon of soda; 
serve either with plain butter or ihi7i drawn butter in 
which is a mere suspicion of sugar. 

Asparagus — Must be scraped ; cut about an even 
five inches long; tied in small bundles and boiled 



Vegetables. 1 3 7 

gently in well salted water; standing, if possible, as you 
thus save the heads; they take twenty minutes, and are 
served with white sauce or Hollandaise. 

Carrots — Should be scraped, not peeled; split if 
large, and cut in four (if to eat with boiled beef), and 
boiled one hour and a half. If they are to be served 
separate, cut them in slips, (see Cutting Vegetables) and 
boiled one hour in salted water; they may then be 
dressed with butter or white sauce. 

CONES OF CARROT AND TURNIPS, 

A more ornamental way is to boil them in quarters ; 
chop them fine in a chopjoing-bowl ; put a piece of butter 
with them and press them into a cone shape (a conical 
wineglass will answer for a mould), and stand them in 
a dish ; sprinkle over them dry-chopped parsley. 

When carrots and white turnips are both served, 
mash the turnips and press them in the same way, ar- 
ranging the orange and white cones alternately on the 
dish ; garnish with parslay. 

Turnips should be tliicMij peeled, cut in halves, 
and boiled one hour in well-salted water ; they are 
usually tender in that time. If you wish to mash 
them, pour off the water; mash them with a tablespoon- 
f ul of cream and half a saltspoonful of white pepper; salt 
to taste ; a little butter may be used instead of cream, 
but the flavor of butter should not be very perceptible. 

A better way to cook them is to cut them (see Cutting 
Vegetables) and boil forty-five minutes in salted water, 
then served with white sauce. 

Young spring turnips and carrots require less time to 
boil, according to size, and should be served whole and 
be simply dressed with white sauce. 



1 2f^ Practical Recipes. 

Spi:n^ach requires careful washiiig to free it from sand; 
pick off all discolored leaves and cut off the roots. 

/always boil it loitliout water twenty minutes or till 
tender, leaving the cover on the saucepan ; when done, 
there will be perhaps half a pint of water in the sauce- 
pan after the spinach is taken out ; cliop the spinach 
fine in a chopping-bowl ; put butter, the size of an ^gg, 
and a teaspoonful of flour in it and salt and pepper to 
taste ; return it to the saucepan and let it stew till all 
the water has boiled away, stirring often to prevent it 
burning. 

The usual way, however, is to put it in boiling water 
with only a little salt ; let it boil twenty minutes ; 
pour off the water and chop the spinach, as in last 
recipe. 

Sweet Cor^st should not be stripped of the husk until 
just before using ; put it into boiling Avater ; boil twenty 
minutes, and serve in a hot napkin. 

Many prefer to boil it in the husk, and to strip it be- 
fore sending it to table. 

Tomatoes, Stewed. — Scald them to remove the skin ; 
cut them up ; put them in a saucepan, and let them 
stew down slowly till they are thick from one to two 
hours ; put in a lump of butter, j^epper and salt, and a 
teaspoonful of flour ; let them stew five minutes longer 
and serve. 

Tomatoes, Baked. — Scald them ; skin them ; cut a 
hole in the top and put in it a little knob of butter in 
which 3'^ou have worked a quarter saltspoonful of salt 
and a little pepper ; set them in a dripping-pan ; put in 
it butter the size of an ^gg, and two teaspoonfuls of 
flour kneaded in it ; bake them till tender and brown, 
but not till they are all shrunken away; take them up 



Vegetables. I 3 9 

and set the pan on the stove ; stir I lie juice well, which 
tlie lump of butter and flour will have served to thicken ; 
when smooth, put it to the tomatoes and serve. 

OxiONS, Stewed. — Take care that the onions are 
carefully peeled ; it is better to take off a skin too 
much than leave one that will shrivel ; choose them of 
medium size : let them boil quite tender in well salted 
water — they will take about an hour if not large — and 
serve with white sauce or drawn butter. 

Spring Oxioxs, trimmed to leave about two inches 
of the green (making them four or five inches long), 
boiled about twenty-five minutes, and served :is you 
would asparagus, are a delicate and delicious dish. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
SOUPS. 

Clear Soup. — For beef stock, for all clear soups, I 
can do no better than refer to the minute directions for 
the making of Gouffe's Pot-au-feu, given on page 68. 
That stock, carefully prepared, clear as follows : 

To each quart of stock take the white and shell of one 
egg, to which add a wineglass of cold water ; then beat 
well together ; add a little of the boiling stock gradu- 
ally, still beating the egg ; then stir the stock quickly 
and pour in the white of egg, etc., at the same time stir- 
ring till nearly boiling again ; then take it from the fire, 
let it stand a few minutes that the white of egg may 
separate from the soup into a curd ; then pour through 
a clean, fine cloth or" napkin into a bowl. 

You now have a soup nearly colorless, clear as water, 
and of delicious flavor. Add to it one-half teaspoonful 
of caramel (see recipe), or less, and it becomes like pale 
sherry or weak tea. This is the ideal clear soup or 
bouillon. Had jou reduced it before clearing, by quick 
boiling, from two quarts to one (see page 67), you would 
have conso7}imee, and then the color may be made a very 
little darker. Avoid a dark color, however, either for 
bouillon or consommee. 

Vermicelli Soup. — To one quart of clear soup or 

bouillon, add two ounces of vermicelli ; boil gently ten 

minutes and serve. 

140 



Soups, 1 4 I 

Clear Vegetable Soup. — Shred half a small carrot, 
half a small turnip, about an inch of young leek or half 
a dozen very small spring onions, if in season ; also a 
few green peas or string beans if young ; boil all together 
till quite tender, in salted water ; then add them, just 
before serving, to the clear, hot stock. Take care that 
you have all the vegetables of one size, or some will cook 
to mash while others are hard ; they should be not more 
than an inch in length and the thickness of a match. 
To a quart there should not be more added than two 
tablespoonfuls altogether, each in good proportion. In 
winter, canned peas and beans can be used. 

OoxsoMMEE A LA RoYALE. — For two quarts of con- 
sommee, take the yolks of two eggs and one gill of 
the consommee ; beat the eggs ; mix with the gill of 
consommee ; put as much grated nutmeg as will lie on 
the point of a penknife and a small pinch of salt ; pour 
this custard into a cup ; set it in hot water, cover it, and 
bake till firm, not longer. When done, if there is a 
skin over the custard, take it off ; cut it into small 
cubes ; add them to the boiling consommee and serve. 
This custard is called royal paste, or pate royale. 

PLAii^" Family Soup. — Put two pounds of meat, with 
any bones or trimming you have — remnants of cold 
meat or gravy helps to enrich it— in a pot with three 
quarts of cold water ; let them come slowly to a boil, 
and then simmer (see page 35) for two hours, skimming 
occasionally ; add to the soup, three teasponfuls of salt, 
one-half one of pepper, a carrot, a turnip, an onion, two 
cloves, a stick of celery and two sprigs of parsley if you 
have them. 

If the vegetables are to be served with the soup, they 
must be very neatly cut, quite small ; if the soup is to 



142 Practical Recipes, 

be strained, simply cut in thin slices will do. Let this 
slowly simmer two hours more ; then put in a teaspoon- 
iul of caramel (see recipe) ; remove the meat ; boil fast 
for a minute or two, to send up the fat, and skim off 
every bit of fat. If you find this difficult after the 
thickest fat is off, lay pieces of common butchers' paper 
or other unprinted paper on the surface till it no longer 
comes off greasy. 

I need not repeat recipes which are, after all, the 
same thing, or should be. The clear soup maybe varied 
into '* macaroni" soup, ^* clear asparagus," or any of 
the many soups taking their name from the substances 
served in them, by adding anyone of tliem to the stock, 
-'ways remembering that they should be cooked thor- 
^Lignly first and then put into the boiling stock. 

Do not, however, use cold vegetables for the pur- 
pose. 

English Clear Mock Turtle. — This soup, as made 
by the English, is much richer than what is usually 
known in this country by the name. I give the best 
English method. Though more expensive it is not 
more troublesome than the more ordinary way, and 
when accomplished is a dish to set ^'before a king," 
or that gastronomous potentate, the Lord Mayor him- 
self. 

Get a calf's head ; order the butcher to split it ; re- 
move the tongue and brains whole ; lay these in vine- 
gar and water till you need them, and take out the lin- 
ing membrane of the nasal passages whole. Soak the 
head in salt and water, carefully washing where the 
brains have been ; when all slime and blood are re- 
moved, put the head in a large soup-pot, and add to it 
six quarts of clear stock (see recipe). Slowly simmer 



Soups. 143, 

for two hours after it lias reached the boiling-point. 
Next take out the calf's head ; cut all the meat from, 
the bones ; cut the flesh or skin into neat pieces two 
inches square. Lay them on a dish ; to keep the pieces 
flat, lay another dish on the top of them. Pour arfy 
liquor that may have run from it, back into the stock- 
pot with all the bones ; simmer for an hour longer; 
then strain it, and if not bright, clear it. 

Mock turtle is a highly-flavored soup, yet very little 
too much herb would siDoil it ; to avoid all danger do 
as follows : 

Put into a small saucepan three teaspoonfuls of 
chopped parsley, one of sweet basil, two of marjoram, 
two of savory, and one of lemon- thyme, two bay-leaves 
— any one making mock turtle often, would do well to 
keep a bottle of these herbs in these proportions, the 
parsley, however, always to be fresh, if possible. Pour 
half a pint of water on these ; cover tightly and sim- 
mer for twenty minutes ; take from the fire, and when 
cool, strain, pressing with a spoou to get as much of 
the flavor as you can. Next i^ut your cleared soup 
back into the pot ; put in the meat, or as mucii of it as 
you wish to serve, keeping the remains for an entree 
(see recipe, Calf's Head with HoUandaise Sauce). The 
pieces of meat from the first cooking will probably be 
tender ; if not, simmer them till they are. Now, add 
the juice of the herbs gradually till you have the flavor 
you desire ; it may take the whole ; next add a pint of 
pale sherry and the juice of a lemon, with salt and 
cayenne to taste. 

If the soup is not a good color, add a teaspoonful or 
more of caramel. 

Serve wnth esfor-balls. 

CO 



144 Practical Recipes, 

For half this quantity every ildng must be divided, 
but it keeps well in cool weather, being a very solid 
jelly when cold. 

Thick Mock Turtle. — To make Thick Mock Turtle,, 
proceed exactly as before ; only instead of using clear 
stock, any stock made from bones and scraps will do ; 
it will, of course, need no clearing ; thicken with brown 
thickening (see recipe), about one tablesjioonful or 
more for each quart, and all the flavoring, egg-balls, 
etc., as in the last recipe. 

Mock Turtle Soup. — A fine American recipe. — Pre- 
pare a calf's head as already directed, saving tongue and. 
brains. Lay in the bottom of the pot a carrot, a turnip, 
a small head of celery, three small onions, two large 
sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, one bay-leaf, one ounce 
of salt, and four cloves, and unless the flavor is objected 
to, half a pound of lean ham. On these lay the head ; 
then add seven quarts of water. Let it simmer three 
hours. 

Egg Balls for Soups. — Boil three eggs hard ; pound 
the yolks, adding a small teaspoonful of very finely 
chopped parsley, half a saltspoonful of fine salt, a quar- 
ter one of white pepper ; moisten with raw yolk, and 
roll each ball in white of egg beaten only a little ; when 
well coated, dip into flour and drop into boiling water 
for two minutes. 

Mulligatawny Soup. — This rich soup is best made 
with the excellent but despised rabbit. A fowl, how- 
ever, can be substituted. 

Take a small knuckle of veal, say three pounds, and 
one rabbit or fowl; if rabbit, lay it in water after cleaning. 

Cut up the veal ; put the meat in a pot with two 
ounces of butter, a small slice of lean ham if approved. 



three onions and six apples peeled and cut up, and half 
a pint of cold water ; set the stewpan on a hot fire, 
shaking it about occasionally till the bottom is covered 
with a brownish glaze ; then add a carrot cut up, a tur- 
nip, three tablespoonfuls of curry powder, one of salt, 
and four tablespoonfuls of flour ; mix all well together, 
and pour on a gallon of hot, not boiling, water ; lay in 
the bones of the veal, and the chicken or rabbit cut up ; 
let all simmer three hours. Take out the chicken or 
rabbit ; trim some nice pieces to serve in the soup ; keep 
the rest with a cup of the soup for an entree (see 
recipe). Skim off all scum and fat as it rises ; then 
strain the soup. Ilave some plain boiled rice to serve 
separate. The pieces of rabbit or chicken are either put 
in the soup or handed round with the rice. 

Of course, the amount of curry powder may be re- 
duced one-half if too hot. 

FISH SOUPS. 

French Fishermai^'s Soup. — Put a quarter pound 
of butter in a stewpan ; when melted, add six ounces of 
flour ; stir well together over a slow fire a few minutes ; 
when cool, add a quart of milk and two quarts of stock ; 
stir over the fire till boiling ; cut the flesh from two 
flounders (or other firm fish) ; throw in the bones and 
trimmings to the soup, with four cloves, two bay-leaves, 
one spoonful of essence of anchovies, one of Harvey or 
Worcestershire sauce, half a saltspoonful of cayenne, a 
teaspoonful of sugar, one of salt {three if stock was un- 
salted); let the whole boil quickly for ten minutes, 
skimming well ; cut the fish into neat pieces ; lay it in a 
stewpan with a tablespoonf ul of finely chopped parsley ; 
strain the soup through a fine strainer on to the fish ; 



1 46 Practical Recipes. 

let it cook ten minutes ; add a gill of cream if you have 
it, and serve. 

In place of stock, oyster liquor may be used. 

Bisque of Oysters. — Put the liquor from one quart 
of oysters into a quart measure, filling it up with water ; 
strain this into a large saucepan ; lay aside half of the 
oysters, chop up the rest quite small, and i)ut them to 
the liquor ; let them stew fifteen minutes ; have a quart 
of milk near boiling. Melt two ounces of butter in a 
saucepan ; put two ounces of flour to it ; stir till they 
bubble ; then quickly pour the milk on to it, stirring all 
the time. When smooth, lay in the whole oysters ; strain 
the oyster liquor to this, pressing the chopped oysters 
well, and season; let the whole just simmer three minutes 
after the oysters are put in, if they cook longer, they will 
become tough. Take it from the fire while you beat the 
yolks of two eggs one minute ; then stir them into the 
bisque; stir for half a minute, 1/ut do not return the 
soup to the fire ; serve in a hot tureen. Cut lemons 
should be handed round with bisques. 

Bisque of Clams is made exactly in the same way as 
that of oysters, except that the clams should all be 
chopped fine and strained out, unless they arc very 
tender. 

Bisque of Lobster. — Take the meat from a fine 
boiled lobster, taking care to discard the spongy part, 
•called ^Madies' fingers"; also the sand-bag from the 
head and the entrail that runs through the body ; care- 
fully save the coral ; wash the shell and claws care- 
fully ; bruise them, and put them to boil with one quart 
of water ; put in also all but the coral and tlie firm 
white meat of the tail ; cut this into small squares ; 
l^ruise half the coral ; stir it into the soup you are mak- 



Soups, 147 

ing, to color it a fine red. Take the rest, bruise it, mix 
it with fine cracker-dust, and moisten with luhite of Qgg 
till it forms a scarlet paste ; make this into little balls. 
When the soup has cooked a quarter of an hour, put one 
ounce of butter in a stewpan, one ounce of flour, stir 
over the fire till they bubble ; pour to it a quart of 
hot milk, stirring quickly ; then strain to this the lob- 
ster liquor ; stir and boil together till smooth ; then 
drop in the pieces of flesh and the red balls (or if you 
wish to have lobster cutlets the same day or salad, the 
flesh need not be used ; the soup is excellent without it); 
let them simmer one minute and serve. 

WHITE SOUPS. 

Stock for "White Soup. — Four pounds of knuckle 
of veal, one carrot, one turnip, two onions — all these of 
a fair size, about five ounces in weight of each vegetable 
— one bay-leaf, one clove, one saltspoonful of white 
pepper, one tablespoonful of salt, five quarts of water ; 
let the veal with five quarts of water slowly simmer for 
two hours ; then add the vegetables cut up ; skim as 
the scum rises ; cook another two hours and strain for 
use. 

White Mushroo:m Soup. — One quart of stock, one 
quart of milk, one gill of thick cream, half a can of 
mushrooms and the liquor, two ounces of butter, two 
ounces of flour, one teaspoon of salt. Put both stock 
and milk to boil separately ; stir in a saucepan over the 
fire the butter and flour together till they bubble ; j^our 
on half the milk quickly stirring all the time ; add the 
rest, and then the stock ; when thick as cream and 
smooth, put in the liquor of the mushrooms, the salt, 
the mushrooms, and last the cream. Just before serv- 



148 Practical Rectpes. 

ing squeeze in a teaspoonful of lemon-jnice, or serve 
cut lemon with it. 

If you have successfully made white sauce (see re- 
cipe), there will be no clanger of any of these so'a2:>s 
being lumpy ; but if such a thing does occur, strain it 
before adding the mushrooms or other article. 

White Asparagus Soup. — Cut the points from a 
bundle of asparagus ; lay them aside ; cut up i\\Q rest 
of the lods quite small ; if very hard you may bruise 
them ; put them into a quart and half -pint of stock, 
and boil slowly till tender enough to go through a col- 
endar ; when all has been strained, put the j^oints into 
the soup and let thom boil till just tender — about ten 
minutes. Meanwhile i^ut two ounces of butter and 
tw^o ounces of flour into a saucepan on the fire ; stir 
till they bubble ; pour a quart of hot milk to this, a 
pint at a time, stirring all the time ; then add the soup 
to it, the salt, and lastly one gill of cream. Serve. 

Cream Soups. — Under this name inexpensive easy 
soups are made without stock ; they are very good, but 
of course lack the flavor of soups made with stock. 

Cream of Cauliflower. — Boil the white part of a 
small cauliflower twenty minutes in salted water. Put 
one quart of milk to boil ; melt in a saucepan one ounce 
of butter and one ounce flour till they bubble, stirring 
thoroughly ; pour in half the milk quickly, stirring till 
smooth ; add the other half and boil a minute ; then 
rub the cauliflower through a colander, stir it into the 
soup ; season with a teaspoonful of salt and a quarter 
one of white pepper, and serve. The pulp of beets 
makes this ^^ Cream of Beets," or of spinach *^ Cream 
of Spinach " ; and the asparagus soup may be made in 
the same way if no stock is at hand. The stock, how- 



Soups, 149 

ever^ is such an improvement that I think most people, 
where economy is not a necessity, would prefer to use it. 

Gree:n" Pea Soup. — Shell half a peck of young peas ; 
throw them into water. Put all the shells to boil in two 
quarts of any kind oi stock, with four sprigs of parsley, 
six young onions, twelve mint leaves, and a handful of 
spinach (for color). 

Let them boil one hour ; rub them through a coarse 
wire sieve. The shells are troublesome, but a great 
deal can be got through with patience ; pour back soup 
and pulp into a saucepan, let it boil ; throw in the peas 
and boil till tender ; season, and stir in a dessert-spoon- 
ful of white thickening, if not thick enough already. 
A beautiful color can be given by bruising a handful of 
spinach and squeezing it through a piece of cheese-cloth 
into the soup. 

Iced Claret So'jp for Hot Weather. — This is 
a Danish soup, but very welcome in summer in this 
climate. 

Boil two ounces of sago in a pint of water until it is 
like thick mucilage ; add to it a bottle of claret (with a 
little grated nutmeg, and two leaspoonfuls of sugar or 
not, as may be preferred) ; stir it well, strain it, anu 
set it where it will be ice cold. Then serve as other 
soup. 

Corn-starch may be used in place of sago, using two 
teaspoonfuls to thicken half a pint of water ; let it boil 
ten minutes before adding the wine \ then pour in the 
wine, stir, and strain, and season or leave unseaspned 
as may be preferred. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
FISH. 

Salmon^ with Green Dutch Sauce. — Take a piece 
of siilmon two inches in iliickness, if for a small family; 
l)ut it on a i)late, tie it in a ii;t})kin and i)ut both in a 
saucepan of boiling water in whicli is jjlenty of salt — 
four tcaspoonfuls to eacli quart, and a tablespoonful of . 
vinegar — boil twenty minutes ; serve on a na])kin ; gar- 
nish with ])arsley and lemon, or slices of cucumber, with 
green Dutch sauce (see recipe) in a sancc-boat. 

Broiled Salmon, Cai'ER Sau(je. — The steaks should 
be an inch thick; dip each piece in Hour, put it on a 
hot greased gridiron, turn it often for fifteen minutes, 
when it should be of a fine i)ale brown. Serve caper 
sauce (see recipe) in a boat. 

CRIMPED COD MASKED WITH OYSTER SAUCE. 

Take two or three pouiuls of codfish — crimped, if 
possible — lay on a plate set on a napkin ; tie up the four 
corners, and put it into as much hoiling water as will 
cover it, with one level tablespoonful of salt and the 
same of vinegar to the quart of water. 

Scald two dozen oysters in their own li(pior ; let them 

get firm, but they must not boil ; ])ut a strainer on a 

bowl ; pour them into it. Take the frill or beard from 

the oysters ; put them back in the li(pior. Put in a 

saucepan one good tablespoonful oi butter, the same of 

flour; stir over the fire till they bubble; do not let 

150 



Fish. \ 5 I 

them burn ; pour the oyHters and half a jiirjt of the 
liquor to the butter and flour ; stir till Hmooth and just 
boiling, then add orjo ;(ill of cream ; let it come again 
to the boiling point ; Heason with white pepper, and 
very little Halt, if the oyster liquor is not Halt enough ; 
pour thin over the finh. 

Tin Haucc shouhl be quite thick, ho that it will not 
rww ofT the fj.sli but mank it. If the tablospoonful of 
Hour was a quite full one it will bo ho, but if you have 
any doubtn, don't put quite all ihe lialf-pint of oyntcr 
liquor until the cream is in ; you can always make thin- 
ner, but without Bpoiling the oysters you cannot boil it 
down to get thick, as you would dc for ordinary white 
sauce that is too thin. 

Garnish with parsley and lemon. 

JIALIHUT WITIf CAPKIt SAUCE. 

Take a fine thick piece of halibut, unless you have 
a fish-boiler and ntrainer, put it on a plate, tie it in a 
napkin, place it in boiling water with a XasnX tablespoon- 
ful of vinegar and one of salt to each quart. It will 
take twenty minutes after it has boiled. Allfinh should 
boil slowly to prevent breaking. When done take it 
up, pour over it a pint of thick caper sauce (see recipe); 
put round it a bonier ot fimai. new potatoes and tiny 
sprigs of i)arHley between them. 

iiij;t i>jo sou-: kn iuVjhamkl. 

Jione i.wo llounderH (nee Filet de Sole, page 57); put 
the bones and trimmings into a pint of water, with a 
half slice of onion and sprig of parsley ; let tliem stew 
down to half pint, strain, and put aside. JJoU up the 
eight filets after Hkinning them (neo directions) ; tie 
them round, not too tightly, and trim them so that 



I 5 2 Practical Recipes. 

they will stand ; put them in boiling milk, or water, 
with a teaspoonful of salt ; boil slowly ; Avhen no longer 
transparent they are done ; they take from seven to ten 
minntes according to size. 

While they are cooking put a tablespoonful of butter 
in a saucepan ^ith a tablespoonful of flour, stir till 
they bubble ; pour the half pint of fish stock on it, stir- 
ring all the while. If you have cream, put half a gill 
less of stock and use cream in its place. This is now 
hecliamel. Stand each little filet or turban (as a filet 
rolled is called) on a pretty dish ; jjour the sauce over 
them so that they are well coated ; then ornament as 
follows : 

Chop half a saltspoonful of parsley fine, and sprinkle 
over fish and sauce as evenly as possible ; if the sauce 
is nice and thick, the parsley will rest on it. Have 
ready thin slices of green j^ickled gherkins, some bits 
of red pepper or capsicum skin, and if you can, the 
outer skin of pickled walnuts ; each of these must be 
the size and thickness of a silver half dime. Place a 
piece on the top of each turban, alternately red, green, 
and black. If you have no walnut, use only the green 
and red. In garnishing this, or any other dish, always 
have everything ready before cooking, so that it may 
be quickly ornamented without getting cold. 

FILET DE SOLE — FRIED. 

See minute directions for the preparation, of this dish 
in the first part of this book, page 57. 

BAKED BLUEFISH. 

This fish should be used very fresh. Choose one of 
fair size ; wash it clean, taking care no slime or dark 



Fish. 153 

matter adheres to the inside. To remove it use 3'our 
forefinger and some salt ; wipe it dry, and stuff it with 
veal stuffing (see recipe), and sew it up ; lay it in a 
dripping-pan with two ounces of butter in small pieces 
over it ; sprinkle with a teasi^oonful of salt ; dredge it 
with flour, and bake in a good oven from half an hour 
to forty minutes, according to size. While it is cook- 
ing chop a'tablespoonful of pickled cucumber, or half 
the quantity of capers, and a teaspoonful of parsley. 

Take up the fish, put it to keep hot, set the dripping- 
pan on the stove; shake in it a dessert-spoonful of flour, 
and let it brown (or use brown flour, see recipe, which 
saves time) ; with the back of the spoon rub the flour 
into the butter and gravy that is in the pan ; when 
brown and smooth, but not at all burnt, pour in quickly 
a cup of boiling water, and if you have it, a glass of 
claret wine, and pepper to taste ; stir till all is smooth. 
Strain this sauce, put in a dessert-spoonful of Worces- 
tershire sauce, one of anchovy sauce, and the chopped 
pickles and parsley. Serve the sauce in a separate 
vessel. Garnish the fish with lemon points and parsley, 
and serve. 

STEWED CARP. 

Cleanse carefully ; lay the fish in a stew-pan with 
just enough broth of any kind to cover it and a tea- 
spoonful of sweet herbs ; stew very gently ; when done 
take up the fish and strain the liquor ; season with 
jiepper and salt, a glass of claret, and a dessert-spoonful 
of Harvey sauce ; thicken with a dessert-spoonful of 
brown thickening (see recipe), or one of flour and a tea- 
spoonful of chopped parsley — skim off any fat — pour this 
over the fish and serve with small sippets of fried bread. 
A few small mushrooms are a great improvement. 



154 Practical Recipes. 

STEWED CARP (FRENCH MODE). 

Prepare as in last recipe. Lay the fish in a stewpan 
with a teaspoonful of salt ; pour over it half a bottle of 
claret, with a slice of onion and a small piece of carrot 
cut fine, and a bouquet of herbs ; stew gently till the 
fish is cooked ; take up the fish, strain the wine, and 
thicken with a teaspoonful of corn-starch mixed in 
water ; put in a little pepper, boil one minute, and pour 
over the fish. 

FRIED SMELTS. 

Choose them of an oven size ; wash them, wipe 
them dry, dip them in milk, then in flour. Beat 
up an ^gg with a tablespoonful of cold water ; dip 
each fish, after shaking oif superfluous flour, in the Qgg 
and then in sifted bread-crumbs, or cracker-dust ; lay 
each one as you do it on a bed of cracker-dust. Have 
the lard in a deep kettle, just as if for doughnuts ; when 
it is very liot and smokes, drop in a piece of bread ; if it 
becomes pale brown in a few seconds, it is hot enough, 
if not, wait ; drop in a piece more ; if now hot enough, 
put in the fish, using a frying-basket if you have one ; 
do not fry too many at a time. They should, if your 
fat was hot enough, be a beautiful yellow brown in one 
minute, if they are not, let it get hotter before you put 
the next lot in. Every one should be exactly the same 
pale color, and there will be no difficulty in this if the 
frying is done according to rule. 

Serve with Tartar sauce or caper sauce (see recipe). 

FISH, AU GRATIl^". 

This is a French mode of cooking fish very nice, 
and to those who use mushrooms frequently, not ex- 



Fish. T55 

pensive, as they may probably have to open a can for 
another purpose. 

Chop lip one or two good-sized mushrooms, or half a 
can of them ; a small piece of onion the size of a hick- 
ory nut ; a teaspoonful of chopped parsley ; a piece of 
lemon peel the size of a dime ; a saltspoonful of salt, 
half one of pejoper ; put two ounces of butter in a 
saucepan, put in it the chopped onion, let it fry till 
tender ; stir in one tablespoonful of flour, and, when 
smooth, half a pint of stock made from the bones, or 
any other you have, wnth a glass of white wine ; when 
thick and smooth add the chopped mushrooms and 
parsley. Skin the fish, remove the bone, and cut it up 
in neat pieces. If you have no regular gratin dishes 
use any you can send to table. Butter it thickly, lay 
in the fish, pour the sauce over it, then cover thickly 
with dried bread-crumbs, shake over it some grated 
cheese, and bake. Have half a cup of butter melted, 
and when the gratin begins to brown, baste it all over 
with the butter, taking care there are no dry spots. 
This can, of course, be made without mushrooms, and 
lemon juice used instead of wine. 

This one recipe will serve for any fish au gratin, and 
if the fish is boned early, the bones and trimmings will 
make the stock for the sauce. 

BAKED BLACK FISH — AJ^" EPICURE'S DISH. 

Take a black fish of five pounds, cleanse and dry it 
thoroughly, flour it slightly, score the sides; put some 
sweet lard or beef dri2:)ping in a jmn, and brown the 
fish on the top of the stove ; pour off the lard and mix 
together the following ingredients : one teaspoonful of 
ground cloves, two-third teaspoonful of mace, one table- 



156 Practical Recipes. 

spoonful of salt, half saltspoonful of red pepper, two of 
black 2)epper, a large clonble handful of chopped onion, 
a large single handful of chopped parsley. Fill the 
scores in the sides of the fish with this seasoning, put 
the rest over the top ; put sixteen balls of butter the 
size of a large walnut, each rolled in flour, upon the 
fish ; pour into the pan a quarter pint of water for 
gravy. 

(If more convenient, the fish may be prepared thus 
far early in the day and put aside until an hour before 
it is wanted.) 

Put it in a good, moderate oven ; it will take one 
hour to cook ; fifteen minutes before it is done put in 
a dozen fine oysters and one pint of red wine. The 
oysters may be omitted if desirable. 

Take up the fish very carefully, to avoid breaking ; 
stir the gravy well round the pan to take off any of the 
clinging glaze ; strain it and pour it round, not over, 
the fish ; garnish with lemon points and little bunches 
of parsley. 



CHAPTER XXV. 
ENTRIES. 

Any small, dainty dish is proper for an entree, 
from minced veal or beef, which is only glorified hash 
(see chapter on tuarming over), to salmon or game cut- 
lets. 

As a rule, I think an entree should differ as far as 
possible from every other part of the dinner. For ex- 
ample, the day on which I had mock- turtle soup I 
would not have the entree of calf's head ; nor with 
oyster soup would I have oyster patties. Yet there 
are cases where circumstances, rather than taste, must 
be the guide. 

The entrees are generally the weak point of a dinner, 
and are consequently the test of a good cook. 

calf's head, hollaxdaise sauce. 

If you have made mock-turtle soup, you may have 
some of the meat remaining ; simmer the pieces in 
enough of the soup, or some stock, to make them hot 
through ; lay them in a dish (see recipe) and cover with 
half a pint of Ilollandaise sauce ; garnish with cut to- 
matoes — or tomato sauce may be used. 

calf's head, EJf TORTUE. 

Take any pieces that may be reserved from making 
soup, and a cup of the soup ; melt one ounce of butter 

157 



158 Practical Recipes. 

in a saucepan, stir in a tablespoonful of flour, pour in 
the cup of soup, stirring till smooth ; strain into this 
the juice of a large ripe tomato, and the liquor from 
half a can of mushrooms and a dozen of the mush- 
rooms ; lay the pieces of meat in this sauce ; let them 
stew for twenty minutes, taking great care they do not 
burn. Take them up and pour the sauce over them ; 
have ready a saucepan or frying-kettle of very hot fat 
(see recipe) ; break into cups as many eggs as you have 
guests ; drop them one by one into the smoking fat, 
just as if it were water and you were going to poach 
them; one minute ought to brown them, and fried in this 
way they will be quite round — do only one at a time, or 
while you take one out the other would harden — lay 
these round the dish ; garnish with stoned olives or tiny 
gherkins. 

calf's tongue stewed. 

Cut little fillets of salt pork ; sprinkle them with a 
mixture of parsley, very finely-chopped chives (or on- 
ion), salt, and pepper ; trim the tongue ; parboil it to 
take off the skin ; then lard it with these fillets (see 
Larding) ; put in a small stone crock with a lid, two 
slices of fat pork, two sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, 
one bay leaf, one clove, half an onion, one carrot cut 
in slices, a saltspoonful of salt, and half one of i3epper ; 
lay the tongue on the vegetables, etc. ; pour in half a 
glass of wine and a glass of broth or soup ; cover it ; set 
it in a moderate oven for three hours and a half, keep- 
ing it well covered. 

Take np the tongue, lay it in a dish, strain the gravy 
to it, and either surround it with green peas, string 
beans, or tomato sauce. 



Entrees, 159 

calf's brains, au beurre noip 

Soak the brains in one tablespoonful of vinegar and 
one quart of water ; carefully remove all the fibrous 
skin that surrounds them without breaking them ; put 
them in boiling water well salted, and with them a 
small bunch of parsley, a saltspoonful of powdered mar- 
joram, and one of thyme ; let them boil gently twenty 
minutes ; while they are doing so, fry some rounds of 
bread the size of the top of a teacup and half an inch 
thick, in very hot fat. Take up the brains, drain them, 
divide them, and put a neat piece on each round of 
fried bread ; stick a piece of red beetroot in the top of 
eacli piece of brain and pour over them the leurre noir 
(see recipe). 

S\VEETBREADS, FRIED. 

When they come from the butcher they should be 
put immediately into salt and Avater to take out any 
dark blood ; leave them an hour, then parboil them for 
ten minutes, drain them, and drop them into cold 
water ; remove all loose thick skin and gristle, but do 
not break them ; dry them, floiu* them, and then roll 
them in agg and bread-crumbs or cracker-dust ; fry them 
a rich light brown. If large, they should be split before 
crumbing ; serve round a mound of green peas, and 
bechamel or tomato sauce in a boat. 

SWEETBREADS STEWED WITH MUSHROOMS. 

Prepare a pair of sweetbreads by parboiling and skin- 
ning (see last recipe), then lard them all over the top ; 
lay some slices of fat pork in a stewpan, also a teaspoon- 
ful of chopped onion, two of carrot, a stick of celery, 
and two sprigs of parsley ; the vegetables must be linely 



i DO Practical Recipes, 

minced ; lay the sweetbreads on these ; add a cup of 
stock, but not enough to cover the sweetbreads ; let 
them sloidy stew one liour ; then take up the sweet- 
breads and set them with the larded side vp in the oven 
till they are pale h'otcn ; strain the gravy, rubbing as 
much through the sieve as you can ; i)ut it back in a 
saucepan, thicken Avith a tcaspoonful of roux ; put in a 
dozen and a half of canned mushrooms ; let it boil a 
minute ; put the sweetbreads on a dish, pour the mush- 
rooms in the centre and the gravy round. If the stock 
should have dried away, boiling water or more stock can 
be added. 

SWEETBREADS, THE SIMPLEST WAY. 

Parboil and skin them ; cut them up in small pieces ; 
put a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan ; when hot, 
drop the sv/eetbreads in Avith a saltspoonful of salt ; let 
them cook slowly twenty minutes, occasionally shaking 
them ; take them out ; stir a tcaspoonful of flour into 
the butter, and add half a cup of broth or water, stir- 
ring carefully ; boil till thick and smooth ; return the 
sweetbread ; let it stew a minute, and serve either on 
squares of toast or with three-cornered pieces of toast 
sticking round it. 

VEAL CUTLETS. 

Take the cutlets from the middle of the leg ; let them 
be cut an inch thick ; divide into small shapely pieces ; 
pound each piece with a rolling-pin till they are half an 
inch thick ; squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over each 
.and pile them up one on the other for a couple of hours 
•or until you want to use them. The lemon juice makes 
them very tender. Season them with salt, and egg and 



Entrees. 1 6 1 

bread-crumb them (see directions) carefully. Although 
it is customary to speak of fried veal cutlets, tliey are 
usually fried in just enough fat, for which process there 
seems no proper English term but '^ dry frying.'^ Yeal 
cutlets are one of the few things better cooked in this 
way than immersed in boiling fat. The reason is, be- 
cause they require to cook more siowly than most other 
things. 

Put in a pan two large tablespoonfuls of "beef drip- 
ping, if you have it, or lard, and any fat belonging to 
the cutlets ; let it get thoroughly hot ; lay in the cut- 
lets and let tliem get pale brown one side before you 
turn them ; do this with a cake turner, carefully — they 
will take from twelve to fifteen minutes, for they re- 
quire to be thoroughly done. Take them up and pour 
the fat out of the pan, put in it a dessert-spoonful of 
brown thickening, and when it has melted pour in a 
cup of cream and hot water, or broth ; stir well, rubbing 
all the gravy from the pan ; put in a saltspoonf ul of salt, 
quarter of pepper. Dress the cutlets on a dish and pour 
the gravy round, not over them. 

For those who like ham^ they may be served with a 
small slice of ham to each cutlet, and the ham being 
fried first, the cutlets are fried in the fat from it, in- 
stead of lard. 

MUTTO^q" OR LAMB CHOPS BREADED. 

These must be nicely trimmed, only about the third 
of an inch of fat left on the outside ; and, if they are 
loin chops, the soft flap end turned round, horseshoe 
fashion ; if rib chops, cut an inch and a half of the^ 
meat from the bone and scrape it. 

Egg and crumb them (see directions), and drop them 



1 6 2 Practical Recipes. 

into yerj hot fat. Mutton chops will take one minute 
to cook, lamb chops two minutes. If the fat has been 
properly hot, the former will be a rich brown outside 
and pink within, in that time. The lamb chops require 
to be well done. 

The chops may be laid round a mound of green peas, 
string beans, or mashed potatoes. 

CHICKEN CROQUETTES. 

Take the flesh of half a chicken, or rather more than 
half a box of boned chicken (I find for croquettes the 
boned chicken quite as good, and a great saving of 
work) ; chop the chicken, and with it half a can of 
mushrooms, or half a dozen large oysters. 

Put a good tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan with 
a tablespoonful of flour ; stir over the fire till they bub- 
ble ; put into a half-pint measure a gill of strong stock, 
half a gill of cream, and liquor of oysters or mushrooms 
to make two gills ; j)our this on to the butter and flour, 
stir till a tliich sauce is formed ; then put in the chop- 
i^ed chicken and mushroom, Avith half a saltspoonful of 
pepper, one of salt, and a teaspoonful of lemon juice; 
stir well, taking care that it does not burn. Take it 
off the fire — it should be a sort of thick mush, and very 
creamy ; butter two plates ; turn it out and sj)read the 
mixture on them ; put it on the ice so tliat it may get 
cold and firm. 

When quite firm cut the mixture into strips, form it 
between the hands into rolls like corks, or small pears ; if 
the latter, have ready some short Avillow or other twigs 
to insert after they are crumbed. Be very careful not to 
have the croquettes too large or they will burst in frying. 
The quantity given will make from twelve to fifteen. 



Entrees. 1 63 

Have at least a pound of cracker-powder on a board ; 
roll each one in it ; have an ^gg beaten with a dessert- 
spoonful of water ; dip each croquette in the agg and 
again in the cracker-dust, laying them as you do them 
on a dish well strewed with cracker-powder. In crumb- 
ing use one hand to pass the croquettes through the 
Qggy the other to crumb them. 

Have the fat exceedingly hot, so that the bread you 
try with colors in thirty seconds ; arrange the croquettes 
in a frying-basket not more than six at a time, and im- 
merse them ; the fat must be deep enough to cover the 
croquettes, and they should brown in two minutes; 
they are then done. Lift the frying-basket out, stand 
it on brown paper, and lift each croquette out carefully 
on to a hot dish ; lay in half a dozen more and fry 
them. Croquettes look better garnished with fried 
parsley than anything else. 

CHICKEK RISSOLES. 

Make the same mixture as for croquettes ; indeed, in 
cold weather and when only a small dish of croquettes 
is required, a part of the mixture can be kept for two 
or three days, by covering it with buttered paper, and 
then used for rissoles or fritters. If you have no pastry 
ready, rub three ounces of butter into four ounces of 
flour ; wet with cold water to make a stiff, smooth 
paste. Flour a pastry-board and rolling-pin, and roll 
the paste out as thin as possible ; cut it in pieces four 
inches long and three wide. Roll the chicken mixture 
into small sausage-like forms, the thickness of your 
finger ; lay them on the ^laste, Avet the edges and roll it 
over the chicken, pressing the paste together smoothly 
that they may not burst. Egg and crumb these just 



1 64 Practical Recipes, 

the same as croquettes and fry in the same way, only 
rissoles require four minutes to cook instead of two. 
Serve them log-house fashion with fried parsley in the 
middle. 

CHICKEN" FRITTERS. 

This is again the same mixture as for croquettes and 
rissoles, but the fritter is a delicious variety. Make 
some tliich f rying-batter (see recipe) ; make the chicken 
mixture into balls the size of a walnut ; flatten them a 
little. Have the fat very hot, the butter ready, and then 
drop each ball into the batter, which must be made 
thick enough to coat them so that the meat is not seen 
through it ; instead of arranging these in the frying- 
basket as you would croquettes, have the basket in the 
fat and drop each fritter from the end of a spoon into 
it. The fat must be hot enough to make the batter 
puif up at once ; when a rich brown they are done. 
Lift out the basket, drain, and serve with fried parsley. 

KROMESQUIES OF CHICKEI^ 

Are the same as rissoles, only instead of the minced 
chicken being enveloped in paste, very thin slices of fat 
pork are used, fastened with wooden toothpicks, and 
they are then crumbed and fried. They are more diffi- 
cult than croquettes or rissoles, but very delicious. 
They may be served in a rich brown sauce (see recipe). 

VARIATIONS ON THE FOUR FOREGOING RECIPES. 

Turkey, veal, or beef may be used for any of these 
four dishes, instead of the chicken. A little onion or 
ham, or any flavoring preferred, may be substituted for 
the mushrooms or oysters, although nothing is so good 
as these. 



Entrees. 1 65 

CHICKEN FRICASSEE. 

Prepare a chicken as directed (see preparation of 
poultry). Cut each leg and wing in two at the joint ; 
cut the back in two ; the stomach makes one piece. 
With the gizzard and neck there should be thirteen 
pieces. 

Throw the pieces into boiling water for one or two 
minutes, take out and drain them. Put in a stewpan a 
tablespoonful of butter, one of flour ; when they bubble 
add half a pint of water or broth, two sprigs of parsley, 
a pinch of grated nutmeg, four small onions, a small 
teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of white pepper, then 
the chicken. Cover closely, and when it reaches the 
boiling point draw aside where it w^ill simmer slowly 
and not burn. Shake it round every few minutes. If 
slowly cooked and closely covered, the sauce will not dry 
away much ; if it should do so, add a little more broth 
or boiling water. When it has cooked one hour, if 
young, it will be done; if an old fowl it will take two. 
Take up the meat and keep it hot, strain the sauce, un- 
less the onion is liked in it. Put it back in the stewpan 
with a dozen small mushrooms and a little of their 
liquor, let it boil one minute, then beat the yolks of two 
eggs with a tablespoonful of milk. Take the saucepan 
to a cool place, wait one minute, then stir in the beaten 
yolks. Put the saucepan back on the stove, stir till it 
is a thick, smooth^ yellow cream, but it must not boil or 
the eggs Avill curdle and the apjoearancc be spoilt. 

Arrange the chicken on the dish in the following 
way : The neck, gizzard, forepart of the back, and 
drumsticks in the middle, one upper part of leg on each 
side the dish, one wing beside each, then the breast and 
hind part of the back, the ends of the wings top and 



1 66 Practical Recipes. 

bottom. Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice into the 
sauce, lay the mushrooms over the meat and pour the 
sauce over all. Serve. 

This is decidedly the best way to make the dish, bat 
more difficult than the following, because it requires 
watching or it will burn. 

SIMPLER MODE FOR FRICASSEE. 

Prepare the chicken as before, put it in a stewpan 
with half a pint of water, one large or four small 
onions, two sprigs of parsley, a pinch of nutmeg, a 
scant teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of pepper ; lay 
in the chicken ; cook as before. When done, take it 
out, put a tablespoonful of butter and a small one of 
flour into a small saucepan ; cook till they bubble, 
strain the gravy from the chicken, to this, stir till 
smooth, add the yolks of two eggs, beaten with a table- 
spoonful of milk ; when it has cooled one minute stir 
in a hot spot but do not boil ; pour this sauce over the 
chicken, arranged as in last recipe. The mushrooms 
may be added or not, as convenient. 

Little squares or crescents of rough puff paste, baked 
and laid round either of these fricassees are a very nice 
addition and serve to garnish. 

FRICASSEE OF VEAL 

Is made in the same way, but is improved by forcemeat 
balls, poached (see recipe), and laid round. 

SALMI OF DUCK OR GAME. 

Strictly speaking, a salmi differs from warmed-over 
duck or game, because the birds are only supposed to 
be half cooked on purpose for it. 



Entrees. 1 67 

But, as a matter of fact, an excellent salmi can be 
prepared from birds that have already done duty for 
dinner, provided they were not overcooked and the 
sauce made very rich. 

Cut up the cold bird into neat joints, take away all 
skin and gristle, take all bones that are bare of meat, 
bruise them well ; lay the meat in a saucepan and put it 
aside; lay the bones, skin and trimmings with any gravy 
in another saucepan, into which put a small carrot, an 
onion, a teaspoonful of salt, quarter one of pepper, two 
sprigs of parsley, a clove, a blade of mace, a bay leaf, a 
saltspoonful of thyme, an ounce of butter. The carrot 
and onion must be cut very fine. Let all these fry in the 
butter till they are all colored light brown, then put in 
half a pint of broth or water and a gill of wine, red or 
white, with one lump of sugar. Let all stew, well 
covered, till reduced to one-half ; then make half a pint 
of brown sauce (see recipe), if you have none ready; 
put it to the bones and vegetables, let them stew an- 
other half hour. Then strain, taste if seasoned enough, 
and pour into the saucepan with the meat. Leave them 
a quarter of an hour to come back to boiling point, but 
not to toil. Dish the bird, let the sauce boil fast to re- 
duce it, skimming it well. When there is only enough 
to serve with the meat pour it over it ; serve with fried 
sippets round the dish, on each of which maybe a stoned 
olive, or half a spoonful of red currant jelly if approved. 

SALMI SAUCE. 

The sauce made as above is called by professional 
cooks *^ Salmi Sauce "; it is not troublesome to make, 
and is equally good for warming over slices of cold beef 
or mutton. 



1 68 Practical Recipes. 

SALMOiq" CROQUETTES. 

Take the remains of dressed salmon, free from the skin 
and bone, which should be bruised and boiled for stock in 
a pint of water until reduced to lialf apint; tear the flesh 
into shreds ; make a bechamel sauce of the fish stock, 
using a full tablespoonful of butter, the same of flour 
(see recipe) ; when thick and smooth add a gill of thick 
cream, a glass of sherry or white wine, and the beaten 
yolks of two eggs — these must be stirred in last and al- 
lowed to come to the boiling point but not to hoil ; then 
put in half a pound of salmon flakes. It should be as 
thick as oatmeal porridge ; when turned on to a but- 
tered plate it should spread, hut not run; spread it an 
inch thick on a plate and set on ice to get quite cold. 
When wanted for use divide into pieces, shape into the 
form of corks, Qgg and crumb them (see Crumbing) and 
fry two minutes in very hot fat. 

Dipped into frying batter these are excellent. Gar- 
nish with fried parsley, and serve with cucumber salad. 

LOBSTER CUTLETS AND CROQUETTES. 

Take the meat from a good-sized lobster ; put a table- 
spoonful of butter and one of flour in a saucepan on 
the fire ; stir till they bubble ; pour into it a gill of 
water, a gill of cream, and a glass of white wine \ stir 
till thick and smooth ; beat the yolks of two eggs ; 
stir them in with the meat of the lobster, and enough 
of the coral bruised to make the whole a fine red ; stir 
it over the fire till it is at boiling point ; turn the mix- 
ture out on a buttered plate and set it to harden. Flour 
your hands and form the mixture when cold into cut- 
lets, as near as you can, the shape and size of a small 
lamb cutlet. Crumb them as directed for croquettes ; 



Entries. 1 69 

stick one of the small lobster claws in the end of each 
cutlet to represent the bone. Arrange in the frying- 
basket very carefully and fry in very hot fat. 

Lobster croquettes are made from the same mixture, 
but formed into cork or cone shapes. 

ROUGH PUFF PASTE. 

{South Kensington ScJiool of Coohery.) 
This pastry will serve for most purposes for which 
puff paste is used ; it is better than most home-made 
puff paste, and takes no longer to make than common 
short paste, while puff paste is the most laborious work 
of the kitchen. 

Have the butter as hard as possible, the chopping- 
bowl and knife cold. Take eight ounces of flour and 
six of butter ; put them in a chopping-bowl and chop 
together, not too fine ; make a hole in the centre of the 
flour and butter, in which put the yolk of one Q^g, a 
quarter saltspoonful ot salt and a teaspoonful of lemon 
juice and a tablespoonful of ice-water ; break the Q^g in 
this water with a knife ; then slowly and lightly mix it 
all with the fingers, using more water if necessary to form 
a5/?ypaste. Handle it lightly; keep the hands and 
board well floured that the paste may not stick. 

Take the rolling-pin, flour it, and roll out the paste 
into an oblong sheet half an inch thick ; fold it one- 
third over, then the other third over that (you have 
now a neat piece of three thicknesses) ; turn the rough 
edges toward you, roll it out again, and fold in the same 
way ; do so once more, always turning the rough edges 
toward you, and it is ready to use at once ; but if the 
day is hot and you have time to lay it on the ice for a 
short time it will be better ; also, if during tJie process 



I ^O Practical Recipes. 

of rolling it shows signs of sticking, laying it on the ice in 
a tin for a few minutes, will make your work the easier. 

The only art in this pastry is to follow directions 
exactly, and to handle lightly. Many will say, '^ I have 
not a light hand." I ansAver : Every woman has a light 
hand if she is handling white satin or velvet. Handle 
pastry as delicately as if it were satin or velvet and the 
pile would crush. 

Before using this paste, read chapter on Pastry (part 
first); all that relates to using puff paste applies to this. 

This paste made one day, or only mixed, and once 
rolled and folded, and finished and used the next, is 
always better, and in ice may be kept two or three days 
and be the better for it. 

I find it a good plan in summer when T want to make 
paste, to put chopping-bowl and knife and rolling-pin 
in or on the ice-box, and have the pastry board as cool 
as you can. With soft butter and warm tools you can 
never have flaky or light paste. 

Patties are among the most acceptable entrees, and 
with the South Kensington rough puff paste very easy 
to make, although the cases can be bought ready at a 
pastry cook's and filled at home. 

PATTY CASES. 

Take some rough puff paste ; roll it a third of an inch 
thick, not less ; have a medium-sized biscuit cutter and 
one quite small, about the size of a silver dollar ; cut 
out three times as many rounds with the large cutter as 
you want patties — eighteen if you want six ; pile them 
three together, wetting the two under ones slightly 
to make them adhere. You have now six patties rather 
over an inch thick ; take the small cutter, dip it in 



Entrees. ^ 7 ^ 

flonr, shake off any that may cling, and press it on each 
patty, cutting only lialf loay through. Take the patties 
up on a cake turner, and slip them on to a baking tin ; 
brush each one over with yolk of egg beaten with a table- 
spoonful of water ; set them in a hot oven to bake. If 
you have had your paste cold, and handled it lightly and 
quickly, these will rise to three inches in height. They 
require fifteen minutes to bake. When they are pale 
brown all over, take them out ; let them stand one 
minute ; then take off the small piece in the centre- 
it will have risen perhaps out of its place— if not, with 
a sharp-pointed knife lift it out ; then take a small 
spoon and dig out the soft paste inside, leaving only a 
crust about half an inch thick, but be very careful there 
are no holes in the walls or sides ; replace the tops and 
they are ready to fill with either of the following three 
mixtures, or any other you may choose : 

LOBSTER PATTIES. 

Pick out the firm white flesh of a hen lobster ; cut it 
into small dice. Put a large teaspoonful of flour and 
two of butter into a saucepan on the stove ; let them bub- 
ble ; pour to it a gill of cream or milk ; stir till smooth ; 
then add a teaspoonful of the pounded coral to make a 
bright pink sauce, and a teaspoonful of anchovy €auce, 
if you have it : take it from the fire when it has boiled 
two or three minutes ; beat the yolk of an ^gg with a 
teaspoonful of cold milk, and stir it in gradually ; keep 
on stirring, and add the lobster meat at the same time ; 
set it on the fire again and let it come to the boiling 
point, lut not loil or the Qgg will curdle. It should 
now look like chopped lobster in very thick red cream 
or custard. 



172 F radical Recipes. 

If you need to keep it hot, do so in a saucepan of hot 
water ; till tlie patty cases neatly, put the top on and 
put them in the oven ; but serve them before they get 
so hot that the inside cooks, or the ^gg will curdle and 
the pastry be spoiled. 

N. B. — Always put the filling in patties liot, or it will 
not warm through till the patties are spoiled. 

OYSTER PATTIES. 

Take a dozen and a half Blue Points ; scald them in 
their own liquor, being careful they do not remain in 
it a moment after it boils; take them out ; cut each 
oyster into four pieces, if they are large; put a dessert- 
spoonful of butter in a small saucepan with a dessert- 
spoonful of flour; pour to this one gill of the liquor 
strained and one gill of cream or milk; a saltspoonful 
of salt and half one of white pepper; boil all, stirring 
till smooth; beat the yolks of two eggs, add this with 
the cut-up oysters to the sauce; let all get hot together, 
stirring all the time; it must be very thick, which it 
will be just before the boiling point; take it from the 
fire quickly, stirring all the time to prevent the eggs 
curdling; ifdd a few drops of lemon juice and just a 
suspicion of nutmeg. 

These and lobster patties should be served on a silver 
dish with fried parsley and a small crayfish in each cor- 
ner of the dish, if obtainable. 

CLAM PATTIES. . 

These are so very good that I think if they were better 
known they would meet with favor. 

Take small clams; scald them in their own liquor; take 
out the hard part, and procc(;d exactly as for oysters. 



Etiir^es. I Jo 

SALMON" PATTIES. 

Prepare as lobster patties, using salmon instead of the 
lobster. 

CHICKEN" PATTIES. 

Take the white meat of a chicken ; cut it (not chop 
it) into small dice ; take the chicken bones and trim- 
mings, if you have no stock ready ; pound them well ; 
put them into a pint of water with an ounce of carrot 
cut fine, a sprig of parsley, a stick of celery, if you 
have it, and a small onion, and a saltspoonful of salt ; 
stew these slowly two hours; strain the stock or broth ; 
put the liquor from half a can of mushrooms or a gill 
of oyster liquor with it, and boil it as fast as possible till 
there is about a gill left; put a gill of cream and the 
chicken into this; thicken with a tablespoonful of flour, 
and one of butter cooked in a separate saucepan ; pour 
the chicken and liquor on to it, and stir till it all boils 
gently ; take it off at once ; two or three chopped 
oysters or a dozen mushrooms improve it greatly ; fill 
the cases with the hot filling, and serve on a napkin or 
silver dish. 

DRESDEN" PATTIES. 

These cases are no trouble at all to an expert in fry- 
ing, and are elegant and economical. 

Take sfale baker's bread cut in thick slices ; with a 
biscuit cutter of medium size cut rounds two inches 
thick. Make a custard of two eggs and a pint of milk; 
season it with salt, of course no sugar; pour it into a dish 
and set the rounds of bread in it, taking care they are 
well covered; turn them gently from time to time so that 
they may get well soaked, but they must not break ; if 



1 74 Practical Recipes, 

there is any sign of them getting too soft to hold together 
take them out; usually an hour suffices to soak them; let 
them drain ten minutes ; then you may either flour the 
outside or roll them in Qgg and cracker- dust. Have the 
frying-kettle with plenty of fat in it, which must be hot 
enough to color bread in half a minute ; set the soaked 
pieces of bread in the fryiug-basket, using a cake-turner 
to take them up. They must be very gently handled. 
Set the frying-basket in the hot fat and fry till they 
are a fine light brown. Take them up and with a sharp- 
pointed knife cut a circle in the top, leaviug a border 
of half an inch all round ; with a spoon dig out a good 
deal of the soft custard-like centre ; fill this either 
with the same preparation as for chicken or oyster 
patties, with sweetbreads, or with preserves, jelly, or 
marmalade. If they are filled with meat of any kind 
garnish with parsley. 

A FEW OLD-FASHIONED PLAIN DISHES. 
IRISH STEW. 

Cut half a dozen lean chops from the neck of mutton; 
flour them and lay them in a saucepan or stewpan with 
two onions cut in slices, and a teaspoonful of butter ; 
put them over a quick fire and let all brown lightly, 
stirring occasionally to prevent burning ; when the 
onions are a light brown pour in a pint of cold water. 
Skim off the fat that will rise to the top ; put in a good 
teaspoonful of salt, a level saltspoonful of white pepper, 
and set the saucepan where it will simmer very gently; 
when it has been simmering an hour and a half, skim 
it carefully ; put in a teaspoonful of Worcestershire 
sauce, and taste if the gravy is well seasoned. Then 



Entrees. ^1^ 

put in half a dozen large (or more if small) potatoes cut 
in half ; cover closely and simmer another hour. The 
potatoes do not require to be covered Avith the gravy, 
they simply steam over the meat ; sufficient good rich 
gravy for the meat is all that is necessary ; to cover the 
potatoes with liquid, as is often done, is to make a 
quantity of broth, but no gravy. 

Arrange the chops in the centre of a dish, the potatoes 
round, and pour the gravy over all. 

HARICOT OF MUTTON (SIMPLE). 

Take some nice rib chops ; trim off all but very little 
fat ; flour them, lay them in a stewpan and brown them 
well and quickly, taking care that they do not burn ; 
cut up a carrot and a turnip into neat pieces, and a large 
onion ; put them in with the chops, a teaspoonful of 
salt, quarter one of pepper, and water enough to cover 
them, no more ; let them simmer very gently two hours 
and a half ; skim carefully to remove all grease. Take 
up the chops ; arrange them on a dish round a mound 
of neatly-cut string beans ; arrange the carrot and tur- 
nip neatly round the chops and put them to keep hot, 
while you stir a dessert-spoonful of brown thickening 
if you have it (see recipe for Roux or Brown Thick- 
ening) into the gravy (or else use butter and brown 
floui^. Let it boil ; taste for seasoning, and strain *it. 
over the meat and vegetables. 

STEWED BEEFSTEAK. 

Take two pounds of round steak ; cut in pieces the 
size to serve ; flour them, and sprinkle with pepper and 
salt ; lay them in a stewpan with two dessert-spoonfuls 
of vinegar, and cover closely ; place the stewpan where it 



176 Practical Recipes. 

^vill gently cook, and leave it one hour. Then take off 
the cover ; cut into it one onion, one small carrot, one 
small turnip, and pour in half a pint of hot water ; cover 
again and let it simmer two hours longer. Take up the 
meat and keep it hot. Stir into the grav}^ if you have 
them, a teaspoonful of Worcestershire and one of mush- 
room catsup, or Harvey sauce, with a teaspoonful of 
brown thickening; strain it, rubbing all the vegetables 
you can through the strainer ; let it boil up and pour 
it over the meat. If preferred, the vegetables may be 
left in and served with the steak. 

SEA PIE. 

This old-fashioned English dish is very good in 
-winter. 

Take two pounds of meat ; if you buy it on purpose, 
use part lean mutton and part beef, or beef, mutton, 
and veal ; although mutton or beef alone will do ; put 
them into a saucepan with just water to cover them ; 
cut quite small, two onions^ half a small carrot, and 
half a turnip, with two heaped saltspoons of salt, and 
a half one of pepper ; put to the whole a pint and 
half of water ; let the whole stew slowly two hours. 
Meanwhile make a suet crust {see recipe for Suet Crust) 
of six ounces of suet and ten of flour ; roll it out till 
it will about fit the saucepan, and an inch thick or 
rather le'ss. Skim the gravy, when it has cooked two 
hours, removing all fat ; taste if salt enough, and add 
sauce for flavoring if you choose. Then put on the 
suet crust for cover, making it fit over the meat closely ; 
for this reason take care that j'ou rolled it large enough ; 
if too large never mind, let it turn up at the sides a 
little. Put on the cover of the saucepan and cook 



Entrees, I 7 j 

slowly another hour. It must cook slmuly or the meat 
will be stringy ; it must not stop cooking or the crust 
will be heavy. 

When done, cut the crust across pie-fashion ; lift out 
each of the pieces and lay them round a dish, then pour 
meat and gravy in the centre and serve. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

ROASTS. 

ROAST BEEF. 

Very full directions are given in Chapter VIII for 
roasting of all kinds. Yet to save referring back, I re- 
peat the recipes, remarking that if you roast one thing 
well, and know tuhy you do it, you can roast all. 

A piece of ribs of beef weighing eight pounds will 
take an hour and quarter to an hour and half, according 
to whether you like it rare or well done. 

Set the joint on a wire stand in a dripping-pan; dust 
it over with flour, but do not season it ; put it in a hot 
oven ; meat put in a cool oven, and both allowed to get 
hot together, will neither be sightly nor toothsome; 
baste it frequently. 

If you choose, and your meat is fat enough to war- 
rant it, you may put a few peeled potatoes in the drip- 
ping-pan, sprinkling them with salt, and turning them 
about when you baste the meat, so that they may brown; 
turn the joint over when it has been one hour in the 
oven, so that it may brown equally. 

When the meat is done it should look of a rich dark 
mahogany color, brown all over but nowhere burnt. 
Take it up on a hot dish; if you have potatoes put them 
round it. Set the dripping-pan on the stove ; having 
poured off the fat carefully, and pour into it a cup of 

178 



Roasts. 1 79 

boiling water ; with a spoon remove every scrap of the 
sticky dark substance that clings to the pan, it will all 
dissolve on the back of the spoon; put in one saltspoon 
of salt and a little pepper; let this boil two or three 
minutes on the stove till dark and rich; then serve it in 
a sauce-boat; sprinkle the beef with fine salt, garnish it 
with parsley and horse-radish scraped (if you have pa- 
tience and a sharp knife), it is far better than the 
ground horse-radish in flavor, and of course the long, 
delicate shreds are more ornamental, little tufts of the 
white and green alternately are a pretty garnish. 

FILLET OF BEEF. 

Trim it very carefully; remove the gristly skin from 
it, if the butcher has not done so; this must be carefully 
done not to disfigure the fillet; roundoff the ends and 
any superfluous fat; in short, make it a neat, compact 
piece of meat. Lard it, (see Larding). 

Set it in a dripping-pan on a wire stand, with some 
beef /a?^, not suet, for basting. Half an hour to three- 
quarters, if very large, will cook it in a hot oven. 

Serve with brown mushroom sauce. 

ROAST LEG OF MUTTON". 

Rub the skin of a leg of mutton with salt (from the 
skin there is no gravy to draw out); flour it lightly; set 
it in a dripping-pan without water, and put it in a hot 
oven; an hour and a half will cook a medium-sized leg, 
unless liked well done, when it will take a quarter of an 
hour more. 

When done take it from the pan, set it on a hot dish, 
and put it to keep hot. Pour the dripping off very 
carefully from the corner of the pan, changing the corner 



1 8o Practical Recipes. 

when the dark sediment begins to run, as you wish to 
save that, yet get rid of all grease; set the pan on 
the stove and pour into it a small cup of water, 
with a saltspoonful of salt; rub off all the gravy and dark 
substance from the pan ; let it boil till all is dissolved, 
then pour through a strainer into sauce-tureen and 
serve. 

ROAST SADDLE OF MUTTON. 

Have the saddle neatly trimmed and superfluous fat 
removed; skin it and skewer the skin over it till it is 
nearly done. 

Set it in the oven one hour and a half before it is 
wanted, if it weighs about six pounds ; the oven must of 
course be hot; baste frequently, and lialf an hour before 
it is done take off the skin; dredge the saddle with flour; 
sift a little fine salt over it, and put it in a part of the 
oven where it will brown well without burning. 

Take it up on a very hot platter, pour the fat carefully 
from the dripping-pan, put in a cuj^ of hot water, rub 
off all the glaze or gravy on the pan, season with salt 
and put into the gravy a glass of claret and a spoonful 
of red currant jelly; serve the gravy in a tureen. 

The saddle should be carved lengthwise of the joint. 

ROAST LAMB. 

Lamb requires to be very thoroughly cooked. A leg 
of lamb is roasted exactly as a leg of mutton. One 
weighing four to five pounds will take an hour and 
half. Serve with mint sauce (see recipe). 

ROAST FILLET OF VEAL. 

Xo meat requires more careful cooking than roast 
veal. Any meat more insipid than plain unsavory 



Roasts. 1 8 1 

yeal is not to be imagined. The less condiment there 
is about roast beef or mutton the better, but yeal re- 
quires a great deal. 

The handsomest joint of veal is the fillet, as the part 
of the leg from which the cutlet is cut is called. Take 
a piece about five pounds ; remove the bone in the 
centre, fill it with veal forcemeat (see recipe) ; also 
make a pocket with your finger between the skin and 
the flesh and lay forcemeat in it. Skewer the veal ; 
bind it firmly into a round shape, and flour it ; cover it 
with very thin slices of fat pork ; set it on a wire stand 
in a dripping-pan and put it in a moderate oven. Veal 
requires very thorough cooking and will take half an 
hour to the pound. Therefore great care must be taken 
that it does not burn before it comes out of the oven ; 
it should be often basted, and be a bright, dark brown 
all over. If pork is objected to, spread butter over it 
before putting it in the oven. 

Just before it is taken out make half a pint of butter 
sauce (see recipe). Then place the meat on a platter \ 
take away all the bits of pork, set the dripping-pan on 
the stove and pour the sauce into it, send it round 
with your spoon into every part till all the glaze or 
hardened gravy is dissolved and the whole a nice brown. 
Remove the strings and skewers from the meat and 
pour a little of the brown gravy round it ; serve the rest 
in a tureen. Garnish with cut lemon. 

ROAST FILLET OF VEAL WITH MUSHROOMS OR OYSTERS. 

Prepare a fillet as in the last recipe, only do not re- 
move the bone in the centre ; roast in the same way. 
While it is cooking take a dozen large oysters, or more 
if small, scald them in their own liquor \ take them up^ 



1 8 2 Practical Recipes. 

strain the liquor, stir an equal quantity of cream and a 
tablespoonful of white thickening (see recipe for Blanc, 
page 34), a little salt and cayenne into it, and boil till 
thick. Take up the meat ; with a very sharp knife cut 
out the bone, and a good piece of meat round it so as to 
leave a cavity. Set the meat on a platter, put it to keep 
quite hot. Quickly take all the veal (free from gristle) 
from the bone and chop it with the oysters ; stir it into 
the sauce you have made ; it should be about as stiff 
as mush. Make all hot together and pour it into the 
cavity of the veal. Make gravy as in the last recipe. 
Mushrooms chopped and stewed in butter may be used 
instead of the oysters if preferred. 

ROAST VEAL AND MACARONI (AN ITALIAN DISH). 

Prepare a fillet or shoulder of veal as directed, but 
without pork ; set it in the oven. Boil some macaroni, 
broken into six-inch lengths, till tender. When the 
veal is within half an hour of being done, cleanse and 
trim some mushrooms ; cut them up, sprinkle salt 
over them, and lay them in the dripping-pan with the 
macaroni. When you take uj) the meat lay the maca- 
roni round the dish, the mushrooms over it ; have drawn 
butter or bechamel sauce ready to pour into the pan ; 
boil it up and strain it, taking care to rub all you can 
of the bits of mushroom and glaze through the strainer. 
Serve the gravy in a tureen. 

ROAST SHOULDER OF VEAL, STUFFED. 

Get the butcher to bone the shoulder ; cut off the 
knuckle part and use it for stock with the bones (when 
you have meat boned take care to have the bones sent 
home) ; fill the cavity where the blade bone was with 



Roasts. 183 

good forcemeat (see recipe for veal forcemeat) ; skewer 
it and flour it ; cover with fat pork, butter, or nice 
beef dripping, and bake it, allowing half an hour for 
each pound ; pour off the fat, if any, from the dripping- 
pan, and make gravy as directed for roast fillet of veal. 

ROAST LOIK OF VEAL. 

Make a pocket with your finger between the skin and 
flesh of the veal and insert the forcemeat, or slices of 
fat pork if preferred ; skewer it securely, flour it, put 
buttered paper over the kidney, and rub the skin with 
a little salt and put it in the oven ; remove the paper 
half an hour before serving. Make gravy as directed 
for roast fillet of veal. 

ROAST LOIN" OF PORK. 

Select quite young pork with very small bones, the 
middle of the loin is the best part; if lean enough for 
the rind to be left on, score it thoroughly, for the sake 
of the carver, but not too deeply; the scores less than 
half an inch apart; a sharp, strong penknife is best for 
the purpose; rub the pork over with flour, salt, and sage 
leaves, dried on a plate, and rubbed to powder. 

Set it in the dripping-pan and bake in a moderate 
oven, allowing half an hour to each pound. It must be 
well browned, but not burnt. When done take up the 
meat, pour the fat from the corner of the dripping-pan, 
taking care to keep back the sediment; pour hot water 
into the pan, set it on the stove, dissolve all the dried 
gravy with a spoon, and let it boil; skim off the fat 
which the boiling will send up, and season; serve the 
gravy in a tureen, with apple sauce in another. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

POULTRY. 
PREPARATION^" OF POULTRY. 

Chickens, ducks, capons and turkeys should be killed 
at least twenty-four hours before cooking; the following 
directions as to cleansing and prej)aring apply to all 
kinds of poultry. 

When well picked, singe by removing the stove cover 
and putting some paper in, pass the bird over the flame, 
taking care not to blacken it or burn the skin. 

Cut the neck off as near the body as possible, pushing 
the skin down before you do it, so as to leave enough 
skin to cover the place where the neck has been cut; 
cut off the feet below the joint; with your forefinger 
loosen the crop, and take it out without breaking or 
emptying it. Next cut a slit right under the rump 
large enough to run two fingers, if a chicken or duck; 
your hand, if a turkey or goose, into the body. Before 
attempting to draw out the entrails, loosen with your 
finger all the tiny strings that attach them to the body, 
be sure that your fingers can pass between the contents of 
the stomach and the body in every direction without ob- 
truction; then bend your hand or fingers round the mass 
and dra-w it forward, this will bring the whole out in a 
ball; by no means drag it by any particular part, or you 
will break the entrails or gall bladder, and the whole 

184 



Poultry, 1 8 5 

process, in the former case, be an unclean one; in the lat- 
ter, the bird may be spoiled, for it is impossible to wash 
away the bitter of the gall if broken. Cut off the vent 
which will free the main,entrail. If properly managed 
the bird will be quite clean inside, and need only wiping 
with a wet cloth, if not clean, pour lukewarm water 
through the bird, wipe inside and out with a towel, but 
do not tuash the outside unless necessary from acci- 
dental soiling. With care, a chicken may be emptied 
without any uncleanliness; lay the bird aside. 

The gall, a small dark green bladder, is attached to 
the liver; cut it off, leaving a bit of the liver with it to 
avoid breaking, throw the liver into cold water; by cut- 
ting the gizzard very carefully at the wide side without 
penetrating the inner skin, it can be peeled off, leaving 
the inside whole, thus avoiding the usual mess made by 
inexperienced ha,nds. Scald and skin the feet (see 
directions, page 47); put liver, gizzard, heart, feet and 
neck on in a pint of water, if chicken or duck; a quart, 
if turkey, with a slice of onion and piece of carrot if 
at hand, and let them stew slowly down to half the 
quantity, when they wnll be a stiff jelly. 

To TRUSS AKD STUFF CHICKEl^ OR TURKEY. — FoX 

roasting, twist the pinions under the w^ing to the back, 
push up the legs till they lie flat against the side of the 
bird and the lower joints are even with the rump; pass 
a skewer through the centre of the thighs bringing it 
out opposite, fasten them in that position with a cord, 
fasten the ends of the legs close to the vent; j)ress on the 
breast bone hard with the palm of the hand. If the bird 
is to be stuffed, loosen the skin of the breast and i^ut 
the forcemeat (see recipe) where the crop was, turn the 
jieck skin over to the back and sew it. 



1 86 Practical Recipes. 

ROAST CHICKEK. 

Flour it, set it in a dripping-pan with a few slices of 
fat pork laid on the breast, or else put a few pieces of 
butter on it. If you do not use the pork, put an ounce 
of butter in a wooden spoon, press it to make it stick ; 
to baste, rub the butter side over the bird ; keep the 
spoon in a cool spot when not in use. 

Allow fifteen minutes to the pound, turn the chicken 
over when the one side is brown; when done take it up. 
If you used pork, pour off the fat and remove the pork; 
have the gizzard ready chopped, the liver mashed fine, 
and a teaspoonf ul of flour mixed with it; pour the liquor 
from the giblets to it, stir well, then pour the whole 
into the pan and boil it on the stove. 

Take the string and skewers from the chicken, set it 
in a dish, with watercress round it, pour the gravy in a 
tureen and serve. 

ROAST FOWL. 

If the fowl is over a year old, wrap it in two coats of 
soft paper after it is prepared as above; set it in the 
oven, allowing an hour and a half in a good oven; when 
it has been in an hour, take off the paper and let it 
brown. This method of semi-steaming it will make it 
tender; make gravy and serve as in last recipe. 

FOWL BRAISED. 

Loosely fill a nice fowl with forcemeat ; put it in a 
stewpan with a pint of broth, two glasses of white wine, 
an onion stuck with two cloves, a piece of carrot to 
make half a cup when cut up, a blade of mace, half a 
teaspoon of salt, a quarter of pepper ; lay thin slices of 
pork over the fowl and cover the pot closely ; let it 



Poultry. 187 

cook very gently one hour from the time it begins to 
boil ; take the fowl from the pot and put it in the oven 
to brown ; strain the gravy into a smaller saucepan and 
boil it down fast till it is a glaze, or looks like syrup ; 
glaze the fowl with this (see Glazing, p. 32) when it is 
brown. Have ready a can of mushrooms stewed with 
their liquor ten minutes in the liquor from the giblets ; 
thicken this with brown thickening. 

If you have no broth or stock to braise the fowl, you 
must have made it with the giblets beforehand, and use 
only brown sauce to stew the mushrooms in. 

ROAST TURKEY. 

Except in point of time, follow the directions for 
roasting chicken. For stuffing, see directions for truss- 
ing and stuffing turkey. On account of the length of 
time it requires to be in the oven, a turkey should be 
covered with well-buttered paper for the first half the 
time. It will take three hours to cook a moderate- 
sized one ; it must be very frequently basted and turned 
about. Dish and serve as chicken, except that it should 
be garnished with sausages fried brown, or fried oysters. 
The latter is the more elegant mode, especially if it is 
stuffed with oysters (see Forcemeats). 

BRAISED TURKEY. 

" Turkey braised, the Lord be praised," is part of an 
old saying which at all events testifies to the estimation 
in wkicli our forefathers held this mode of preparing 
the savory bird. 

Cover the turkey with slices of pork, tying it round 
with cord to keep it in shape. Put four slices of jwrk 
in the pot or braising pan ; put the turkey stuffed on 



iSS F radical Kecipes. 

these ; lay the giblefcs round it, with four onions, three 
cloves, three carrots cut small, a parsnip, two bay 
leaves, a bouquet of herbs (see Bouquet), a teaspoonful 
of salt, and half of pepper, and almost cover this with 
any good stock you may have. Cover tightly and allow 
to simmer very gently from four to six hours, according 
to the size of the bird. Braised turkey is served hot or 
cold ; if it is to be eaten hot let it be in the oven to 
brown, unless you have cooked it in a regular braising- 
pan which will hold hot coals on the lid, when the oven 
will be unnecessary ; remove the vegetables, boil the 
gravy down rapidly, skimming it to free it from fat. 
Garnish either with carrot and turnip cut into fancy 
forms and boiled separately, or with small sausages fried. 
Strain part of the gravy, stir in a spoonful of brown 
thickening, and pour it over the bird. 

If it is to be served cold, let it remain in the gravy in 
which it was braised for an hour after it leaves the fire ; 
then strain the liquor ; boil down to two-thirds its orig- 
inal quantity, so that when cold it will form a hard 
jelly ; free it from fat ; clear with white of Qgg (see di- 
rections for clearing stock) ; brush two coats of this 
over the turkey and let the rest get cold ; when stiff 
cut it into stars or strips, chopping the trimmings of 
it and use to garnish the dish. 

BOILED TURKEY. 

Prepare a turkey as directed. In trussing turkey 
for boiling, the legs are pushed up, a slit cut in each 
side, and the legs drawn into the body; it is correct to 
stuff the breast for roasting, but for boiling the inside 
may be filled with oyster forcemeat (see recipe) or with 
chestnuts ; bind it into shape with tape, flour it, put it 



Poultry. 1 89 

into an oval pot witli just warm water enough to cover 
it ; put in a dessert-spoonful of salt, a carrot, an onion, 
and four cloves, and a dozen pepper-corns, a few sticks 
of celery, and a bouquet of herbs ; bring it to a boil; 
simmer a turkey of ten pounds very gently for two 
hours after it reaches the boiling point, skim off every 
bit of scum as it rises or it will discolor the bird. Take 
it up, drain it a moment, make some thick white sauce 
or bechamel (see recipe) with some of the water it was 
boiled in, pour it over the turkey to mask it. Send to 
table with it either oyster sauce, celery sauce, or Hol- 
landaise, or even good parsley sauce. Garnish with 
forcemeat balls, or little rolls of crisp bacon, or lemon 
and parsley. 

Boiled Chicken" is cooked in the same way, but 
allowing half the time or less if small, and half the in- 
gredients in the water. 

ROA.ST DUCK OR GOOSE. 

Clean a duck as directed for fowls; twist the pinions 
round on the back; it is correct English fashion to leave 
the feet on ; scald them, and twist them up against the 
back. If you jirefer them off, however, break the bone 
below the joint, and cut them. off. Stuff the body of 
the duck with forcemeat (see forcemeat for ducks), sew 
up the slit and press the legs close to the side of the 
bii'd, securing them with a skewer and cord. 

Many people like duck underdone; when this is so, 
half an hour in a hot oven will cook a quite young one; 
the usual time for a duck weighing four pounds is one 
hour. Make brown gravy in the dripping-pan with the 
stock from the giblets, chopping the liver and gizzard, 
and skimming off all grease, let this boil down until 



I go Practical Recipes, 

rich and brown. Send hot apple sauce to table with the 
duck. 

A goose is cooked and trussed exactly as duck, except- 
ing that in no case should the feet of a goose be left on. 
The time for a young goose is one hour and a half; it 
should be frequently basted, and served very brown. If 
the skin is very fat and oily, some prefer to i)arboil the 
bird half an hour in salt and water; then flour it, and 
put it in a very hot oven, or it will not brown; once it 
begins to color, the heat may be a little slackened; serve 
with brown giblet sauce and apple sauce in separate 
tureens. 

BOAST CAPON. 

Follow the directions for roast turkey. If wanted for 
a company dinner, it may be stuffed with chestnut force- 
meat (see recipe), and served on a bed of watercresses. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 
GAME. 

As much, as the French excel the English in soups- 
and all made dishes, so do the latter excel them in roasts 
and game. 

The English rule for game is to leave the natural 
flavor unimpaired ; therefore they use no forcemeat, no 
flavored sauces, no larding, butter only is used to baste, 
and that liberally, and bread sauce which has little 
flavor of its own, but is said to bring out that of game, 
is served with it. 

Therefore in the following recipes where I have pre- 
scribed pork, I am following French or American taste;, 
but it may always be replaced by butter, / think, to ad- 
vantage. 

ROAST GROUSE, PRAIRIE HEN, OR PARTRIDGE. 

Clean as directed for poultry in general. If you wish 
to serve these birds English fashion, instead of cut- 
ting the head off, make a slit to take out the crop, and 
twist the head round and bring it under the wing; rub 
the breast and legs with lemon, then mix a teaspoonf ul of 
salt, a quarter one of white pepper, and a tablespoonful 
of butter together, put them inside the bird; take a slice 
of fat pork, broad and long, and lay it over the breast 
and legs; truss the bird into good shape with skewers 
and twine, and roll it in buttered paper. Put in a drip- 

191 



192 Practical Recipes. 

ping-pan in a quick oven, leave it half an hour; then 
take off the paper, dredge the bird with flour lightly, 
and baste thoroughly, i:»ut it in a part of the oven where 
it will brown quickly. When a good color take it up, 
remove strings and skewers, but not the slices of pork; 
put a little stock or boiling water in the dripping-pan 
stirring well, skim off the grease, then squeeze in the 
juice of half an orange, add a little pepper and salt, and 
^erve with bread sauce. 

BROILED PRAIRIE HEI^, OR PARTRIDGE. 

Clean and prepare as directed. Split the back of the 
bird, butter it all over, place it on a hot gridiron and 
turn several times to prevent burning. It will take, on 
a good fire, fifteen to twenty minutes, according to size; 
just before it is done, sprinkle with salt and joepper. 
While the bird is cooking, chop a teaspoonful of pars- 
ley very fine, mix it with the juice of a quarter lemon 
and a tablesjDOonful of butter. This quantity is for each 
bird, put this mattre dliotel Mdler, as it is called, on a 
very hot dish, and lay the bird first on paper to take 
any dark grease there may be, and tiian lay it on the 
dish ; garnish with parsley. 

ANOTHER WAY (BLOT), 

And preferred by me, is as follows : Split each bird in 
two lengthwise pieces; put butter the size of an ^gg in 
a stewpan, set it on a good fire, when hot lay the birds 
in ; leave them till about half cooked, turning them 
three or four times ; then take them off, put them on a 
gridiron, cook fifteen minutes and serve with the follow- 
ing sauce: Put with the butter in the stewpan in which 
were the birds, a teaspoonful of chopped j^arsley, one of 



Game, ^93- 

chopped mushrooms, salt and pepper ; sprinkle in, and 
stir at same time, a teaspoonful of flour, a gill of white 
wine, and one of broth, boil till slightly thick; serve the- 
birds on it, or they may be served with mayonnaise sauce. 

SALMI OF GAME. 

See salmi of duck, and follow directions. 

ROAST QUAILS. 

These, being birds of white flesh, are unlike most 
game, which is better kept long after killing, and should 
be cooked very fresh. Clean the birds ; roll each in a 
thin slice of salt pork, tying it on with cord; lay the 
birds on a dripping-pan, and baste often; when done, 
serve on slices of toasted or fried bread, with the crust 
cut off. 

BROILED QUAILS. 

Cook exactly the same as partridge, only of course 
they require much less time to cook, ten minutes usu- 
ally suffices ; serve on toast, with watercresses round the 
dish. 

SMALL BIRDS, SNIPE, WOODCOCK, ETC. 

Leave on the head and neck, carefully picked free of 
feathers ; twist the head, and use the beaks of snipe and 
woodcock as a skewer to secure the legs, running it 
through the body ; wrap each one in bacon, fastened 
with wooden toothpicks, and put them in a hot oven. 
Have as many slices of bread, cut round, and fried 
brown in butter as you have birds ; when done (they 
will not take more than twelve or fifteen minutes in a 
hot oven), place each on a slice of bread, and serve very 
hot. 



194 Practical Recipes. 

A QUICK WAY TO COOK SMALL BIRDS. 

Prepare them as usual ; dip each bird in flour and 
•shake them ; sprinkle with salt. Ilave a kettle with 
smoking lard ; try it with a piece of bread, if it colors 
brown in one-half minute it is ready, if not wait and 
try again. When it is hot enough drop the birds in ; 
they will cool the lard, therefore don't put in more than 
six at a time ; three minutes will cook them ; try the 
lard before putting in more. Have ready as many 
rounds of bread as you have birds, soaked in ^gg and 
milk — two eggs to half a pint ; drain each piece and 
drop them into the hot fat ; take them up when pale 
brown and lay a bird on each. 

If the fire is good and the fat deep enough (there 
should be two to three pounds in the kettle), a dozen 
birds and a dozen rounds of bread will take less than 
twenty minutes, and make a most delicious dish. 

Epicures prefer that woodcock and snipe should not 
be drawn, but the entrails — otherwise the ^^ trail" — be 
•caught on toast laid under them in cooking. 

ROAST YEKISOK. 

Trim neatly a well-hung haunch of venison, scraping 
oif all dark skin and dried surface ; wipe thoroughly, 
and if it is getting 'Miigh " let the cloths be dipped in 
vinegar ; cover the haunch with a thick sheet of white 
cartridge paper well buttered ; tie this securely over. 
Baste the venison to prevent the j^aper from burning ; 
half an hour before the meat is done remove the paper, 
sprinkle a little salt over the meat, dredge it with flour, 
and baste liberally with butter stuck in a spoon. Pour 
the fat from the dripping-pan, keeping back any brown 
gravy there may be ; pour a cup of boiling water to this, 



Game. 1 95 

and boil it down adding only salt ; serve the gravy in a 
tureen ; put a frill of white paper round the knuckle, 
and serve very hot. Allow fifteen minutes to the pound. 
Red-currant jelly and venison sauce should be served 
with venison. Venison sauce is equal parts of mutton 
broth, made very strong, and port wine, with a little 
cayenne pepper. Many simply serve currant jelly made 
hot. 

Some roast the haunch in a floar-and-water paste 
until nearly done, when it is removed and the meat 
browned. 

VENISON CUTLETS OR STEAKS. 

Cut cutlets or steaks an inch thick, trim neatly, but 
take away no fat ; pepper and salt them ; broil them 
on a hot gridiron over a clear, gentle fire ; turn often, 
they will take twenty minutes ; send stewed mushrooms 
and baked potatoes to table with them ; or, if you have 
no mushrooms, make some currant jelly hot, and send 
it as sauce. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
SALADS. 

Although there are many salads of different nameS; 
there are but two dressings in ordinary use : the simple? 
French dressing, suitable for any salad where there is 
no meat used, and mayonnaise. There are many others, 
of course, several varieties of English dressing all more 
or less bad — American dressings no better. 

The French excel in salads, and it is rare, indeed, at 
a French table to eat one poorly mixed. Yet their 
method is very simple, so simple, indeed, that many 
think it cannot matter in mixing oil and vinegar whether 
one or other goes first, provided the quantities are right ; 
but this is the secret, the oil must te first. The reason 
is this : if the leaves are wet first with the vinegar, the 
oil will not adhere and will lay at the bottom of the 
bowl, and a sharp, crude salad will be the result. This 
shows, too, why the lettuce must always be loell dried 
before being put in the bowl. 

LETTUCE SALAD. 

This is best prepared on the table, as it should bo 
eaten soon after it is made. 

The lettuce should be carefully washed and dried. 
Hold over the bowl a salad-spoon, into which put a 
saltspoonful of salt and a quarter one of white peppery 

196 



Salads. 1^7 

then fill the salad-spoon with oil ; pour this over the 
lettuce, and toss the leaves over and over till they 
shine ; then put two more tablespoonfuls of oil, toss it 
again ; then put one tablespoonful of vinegar ; mix 
lightly, and the salad is made. These are average pro- 
portions ; many like four parts oil to one of vinegar. 

ANCHOVY SALAD. 

"Wash six anchovies ; let them lie in water an hour ; 
remove the bones, also heads, fins and tails ; put them 
on a dish with two lettuces, a teaspoonful of chopped 
parsley, and a sliced lemon ; pour over them either a 
simple French dressing or a mayonnaise sauce (see 
recipe). 

CARDINAL SALAD. 

Take two or three heads of very white celery, using 
only the best part ; cut them of even lengths ; place 
them on a flat dish, arranging them like a bundle of 
asparagus, taking care that some of the delicate leaves 
are at each end ; color some thick mayonnaise with 
lobster coral pounded, or with red beetroot boiled 
tender and rubbed through a sieve — using enough of 
either to make the same a bright red ; pour it in spoon- 
fuls over the middle of the celery until it is entirely 
masked, leaving the pale green ends untouched by the - 
sauce. Put it on the ice till needed for use. 

ASPARAGUS SALAD. 

Take cold asparagus that has been boiled twenty 
minutes — that is till tender, but not in a mush ; color 
some mayonnaise, green, either with spinach (see Spin- 
ach Coloring) or juice of bruised parsley. Arrange the 



I^B Practical Recipes, 

asparagus neatly in a pile on a dish, all the heads one 
way ; put it on the ice till very cold ; then pour over it 
the green mayonnaise (which must not be thin enough 
to run off), leaving the asparagus points, however, un- 
touched. This is an excellent breakfast salad. 

CHICKEN" SALAD, (sOYER's). 

If you can make a good mayonnaise, chicken salad is 
very easy to make, yet seldom well made. Cut up the 
chickens quite small, make a plain French dressing 
(three tablespoonfuls of oil to one of vinegar, salt and 
pepper)^ pour it over the chicken, and leave it an hour; 
take as much celery cut up small as you have chicken, 
and toss both together, taking care to remember that 
the salad ought to be seasoned sufficiently before the 
mayonnaise is put on; then make a mound as smooth as 
possible and cover it with mayonnaise which has been 
on ice till very firm; dip a knife in water to smooth it. 
Ornament either with celery tops alone or with capers, 
stoned olives, gherkins or hai'd Qg'g, 

If lettuce is used instead of celery treat the chicken 
as before, but lay the lettuce leaves round the dish. 

LOBSTER SALAD. 

Take a live hen lobster, plunge its head downwards in 
boiling water; this kills it instantly; be sure the water is 
*salt enough; two large tablespoonfuls to the gallon of 
water is not too much; boil it slowly twenty-five minutes if 
medium size, if large, half an hour ; if over boiled, the 
lobster will be tough. Put it into cold water when done 
for one minute, then break the shell and crack the 
claws. Take away the sand bag from the head, the 
entrail that runs through the tail and the spongy parts 



Salads. 199 

that lie just iinder the shell. Save the coral, any eggs 
there may be under the tail, the white fat that adheres to 
the shell, and the green fat in the body. Cut the lobster 
into dice, or tear it with two forks ; pour upon it just 
enough French dressing to moisten and season it, or 
mayonnaise may be used. This may be done some time 
before the salad is eaten, but the putting together must 
be done the last thing; this is true of all salads; lay 
crisp white lettuce leaves or celery in the dish; lay on 
them the lobster, and the green and white fat; pour over 
it a mayonnaise; garnish with olives and the lobster claws; 
separate the eggs and sprinkle them over the salad dress- 
ing, or use the coral chopped if there are no eggs. 

Veal or lean roast pork when very tender and well 
cooked, dressed precisely in the same way as chicken 
salad, are exceedingly good, although they should never 
be used as a substitute for chicken in so-called '^chicken 
salad." On their own merits they would meet approval, 
while under a false name they may be scorned. 

POTATO SALAD. 

Boil the potatoes in their shins till tender but not 
broken ; peal and slice them while warm ; let them get 
cold but not ice cold ; chop a teaspoonful of onion or 
olives very fine; throw it over them and pour over 
them French dressing enough to moisten them well. 

Potatoes boiled in their skins are less likely to break 
than when peeled beforehand. 

This is the usual way of making potato salad; but I 
prefer it made in the following manner: 

POTATO MAYONl^'AISE. 

Boil potatoes in their skins, peel and slice them as 



200 Practical Recipes. 

above. Make mayonnaise sauce, chop a small onion 
very fine indeed, mix it with the mayonnaise, and dress 
the potatoes with it; garnish with tufts of parsley. 

BREAKFAST SALAD, (mURREY). 

Scald two ripe tomatoes, take off the skin, put them 
into cold water or on ice; drain and either slice them, or 
cut them into sections as you would divide an orange; 
peel and slice very thin one cucumber; put in a salad 
bowl a few leaves of Romaine lettuce, add the tomatoes 
and cucumber, one spring onion cut up, and, if possible, 
a few tarragon-leaves; pour over the salad a plain salad 
dressing. 

TOMATO SALAD. 

Scald and skin fine ripe tomatoes ; cut them 
either in slices or in sections j^arallel to the core, leaving 
the hard core out; set them on the ice till very cold; 
pour over them either a mayonnaise or a French dressing. 

TOMATO SALAD, KO. 2. 

Scald some tomatoes, choosing round ones; skin them; 
let them get firm on ice; wash some fresh lettuce; put 
two or three young leaves in a saucer, using as many 
saucers as there are persons at table. Slice each toma- 
to neatly and put the slices so that the tomato appears 
uncut. Set one on each saucer in the middle of the 
lettuce leaves; put ou each a dessert-spoonful of mayon- 
naise sauce. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

BOILED PUDDINGS OF ALL KINDS. 

They must be put in boiling water and brought back 
to the boiling point as quickly as possible ; not allowed 
to boil again, just whenever is most convenient; steep- 
ing a pudding in non-boiling water ruins it. Then it 
must boil eve^^y minute oi the time directed, and should 
the water boil away too much, be replenished from a 
kettle of boiling water. This will hardly be necessary, 
however, if the pudding was well covered with water at 
first, except in the case of those requiring to boil more 
than two hours, such as Christmas puddings, etc. 

EJs'GLISH APPLE, OR OTHER FRUIT PUDDIKG 

The English use a beef-suet crust where Americans 
use a biscuit crust, and as it is both more wholesome 
and more nutritious, I give the recipe hoping that those 
who shudder at the idea of suet pastry will give it a 
trial. It is no more trouble to make than biscuit dough. 

Get deef kidney suet ; take all the skin from half a 
pound of it ; chop it very fine ; put in a small teaspoon- 
ful of salt ; mix it with a scant pound of flour ; make a 
hole in the centre and put in a small cup of water ; mix 
it as quickly and as lightly as you would biscuit ; add 
more water, if needed, to make it a Jlrm but not hard 

201 



002 Practical Recipes. 

paste ; roll out on a floured board once to the thickness 
of half an inch ; butter a quart bowl well ; line it with 
this paste, pressing it in every part lightly ; leave it an 
inch above the bowl ; cut off what remains over the inch 
margin ; roll it out for the cover ; then fill the bowl 
with apples peeled and cut in slices ; heap it up high ; 
pour over them as much sugar as you think your apples 
will need, and grate the rind of a lemon or some nut- 
meg over them ; pour in half a cup of water ; wet the 
edge of the paste, put on the cover, pinch the edges 
together ; see that the water cannot get out ; then flour 
a cloth ; cover the top of the pudding with it ; pass a 
string round the bowl outside the cloth half-way down 
(so that the flare of the bowl will prevent the string if 
well tied from slipping up) ; tie the four corners of the 
pudding cloth over the top of the bowl, so that you can 
lift the pudding by it ; then put it into a pot of fast- 
boiling water — which must be kept boiling, and if it 
diminishes much, replenish from another kettle kept 
boiling. Serve with hard sauce. 

Easpberry Pudding is made in the same way, using 
three parts of raspberries and one of currants in place 
of the apples. 

Cherry Pudding, with the same proportion of cur- 
rants, is a delicious pudding. 

FRUIT batter pudding. 

Make a batter with four eggs, and a pint of flour 
and a pinch of salt, using as much milk as will make 
a rather thick batter ; stir in as many raspberries or 
cherries as you can, with half a cupful of sugar. Serve 
with hard sauce or a sauce of the fruit (see Fruit 
Sauce). 



Puddings. 203 

ALBERT PUDDIN^G. 

Beat six ounces of butter to a cream ; then gradually 
add to it five well-beaten eggs and half a pound of flour, 
six ounces of loaf-sugar, the rind of a lemon grated ; add 
half a pound of stoned raisins ; butter a bowl or mould 
thickly, ornament it with stars and diamonds of cit- 
ron and figs ; pour the mixture in a bowl which it 
must fill within half an inch ; cover with a cloth as 
directed for apple i)udding. Boil or steam it at least 
three hours. 

LEMOIT PUDDING. 

Twelve ounces of bread-crumbs, six ounces of finely- 
chopped beef suet, four ounces of flour, four ounces of 
sugar, the grated peel and juice of two small lemons, 
four eggs ; mix all together, and then add milk enough 
to make a thick batter. Boil in a buttered bowl or 
mould three hours and a half. If a bowl is used, cover 
with a floured cloth and tie up as directed for apple 
pudding. Sift sugar over it when done. Serve with 
lemon or wine sauce. 

POLKA PUDDING. 

Boil one quart of milk ; mix four tablespoonfuls of 
cornstarch with a little cold milk, and pour the boiling 
milk on to it, stirring all the time ; let it thicken over 
the fire ; then add two tablespoonfuls of rose or orange- 
flower water (/ find this rather too much, begin with 
one, then taste). Stir in, either three tablespoonfuls of 
rich cream or three ounces of butter ; blanch one ounce 
of bitter almonds, two of sweet, and beat them up 
quite fine, using white of one ^g^ to prevent oiling ; 
beat the yolk with three other whole eggs well, and add 



204 Practical Recipes. 

them to the mixture ; stir all over the fire till thick 
and smooth ; put in a mould and ice it. Serve with 
polka sauce (see recipe). Sauce boiling lioty pudding 
cold, on hot plates. 

QUEEN" MAB PUDDIIs^G. 

Steep six bitter almonds bruised, and the jieel of 
a lemon (pared very thin) in a pint of milk on the 
stove, at almost boiling jioint, until the flavor is well 
drawn out ; add one ounce of gelatine and a pinch of 
salt ; stir till gelatine is dissolved ; strain and return to 
the saucepan ; add half a pint of thick cream and five 
ounces of sugar ; let it all just boil ; stir in quickly the 
yolks of six eggs well beaten ; set tlie saucepan in boil- 
ing water and stir till thick, but be careful not to let 
the eggs curdle ; pour it out and stir till nearly cold; 
then mix two and a half ounces of candied cherries, and 
two ounces of citron cut small ; or three ounces of pre- 
served ginger, and one ounce of pistache nuts blanched; 
pour the pudding into an oiled mould and pack in ice. 
If ginger is used, serve the ginger syrujo as a sauce ; if 
cherries, Use cherry syrup or currant jelly mixed with 
syrup for sauce ; boil together half a cup of water and 
a cup of sugar to make the syrup. 

TROY PUDDING. 

This is an excellent plain 2:>udding ; one cup of 
chopped and seeded raisins, one cup of suet finely 
chopped, one cup of molasses, one cup of milk, three 
eggs, three cups of flour, one teasjooonful of soda; spice 
to taste, saltspoonful of salt ; mix all the dryjngredi- 
ents first; then put molasses, the eggs well beaten, and 



Puddings. 205 

the milk ; boil three hours in a buttered bowl. Serve 
with good wine or lemon sauce. 



ENGLISH CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS 

There are many good recipes differing very little from 
each other, any one of which would make as good a 
juidding as usually met with in '' old England,'' but it 
requires more than a good recipe to turn out the pudding 
as it is eaten there; the best recipe is more often than not 
spoiled in the cooking. I have known them to be 
three-parts boiled (as is the usual way) and given to 
friends, and yet in the final two hours' boiling be 
spoiled. 

In the tying up and boiling lies the art of making any 
good boiled pudding; bear in mind the bowl or pudding 
boiler must ha full, the cloth tied firmly over the bowl 
(it will always ''give " enough for the swelling of the 
pudding), the water be fast boiling, and when the pud- 
ding is put in, be quickly brought to the boil again, and 
kept boiling every minute of the time prescribed, re- 
plenishing from a kettle of boiling water kept for that 
purpose. If the pudding ceases to boil you will find it 
sticky. 

The orthodox Christmas pudding is always an equal 
-quantity of suet, fruit and eggs ; the variations are 
in the proportions of ingredients added for flavoring, 
and in the flour some families (and it is usually a family 
recipe handed down for generations), use the same pro- 
portion of flour as of each kind of fruit, others use lialt 
flour and half bread-crumbs, others again use all bread- 
crumbs and no flour. I give three recipes, all excellent, 
i^rovided they are properly boiled. 



2 O 5 Practical Recipes. 

CHRISTMAS PUDDING, XO. 1. 

One pound of currants thoroughly cleaned, one pound 
of raisins, stoned and chopped a little, one pound of 
suet finely cho])ped, half a pound of brown sugar, four 
ounces of blanched almonds split, four ounces of citron, 
four of candied lemon peel, four of candied orange peel, 
one pound of flour and eight eggs, two glasses of 
brandy, and milk to make all into a very thick batter 
just so that you can stir it. A teaspoonful of salt 
scant, and a small nutmeg grated, a teaspoonful of gin- 
ger, a scant one of cinnamon and half one of cloves, all 
ground. 

CHRISTMAS PUDDING, XO. 2 (VERY RICh). 

This is a very delicious pudding, richer than the 
other. 

One pound of Muscatel raisins stoned, half pound of 
Sultana raisins, half a pound of currants, half a pound of 
mixed candied peels, half a nutmeg grated, three-quar- 
ters of a pound of bread-crumbs, three-quarters of a 
pound of beef suet chopped very fine, ten eggs, a quar- 
ter an ounce of hitter almonds pounded, one tablespoon- 
ful of flour, four ounces brown sugar, a gill of brandy 
and one of sherry. 

N. B. — In both these puddings the spices may be in- 
creased or lessened, the candied peels varied or part 
omitted. These are matters of taste, and do not affect 
the texture or character of the pudding. 

TO MIX PLUM PUDDING. 

Throw each ingredient as you prepare it into a pan ; 
sprinkle the salt over all, then add the beaten eggs. 



Puddings, 2 O 7 

the brandy, and when milk is used, put tliat last, as 
it is only when the eggs and brandy are in you can tell 
how much, you need. The mixture must be so stiff 
as to stir with difficulty. In the last recipe the bitter 
almonds must be crumbled and added by degrees with 
great care. 

The quantities given make two quart puddings, or 
may be boiled in one. 

If boiled in two, use quart bowls ; butter them well, 
fill them, put a buttered paper over the top, scald a 
pudding cloth, flour it, tie it over (see general direc- 
tions for puddings), and boil each pudding six hours; 
and two hours on the day used. If one large pudding 
is made, boil eight hours, and two on the day used. 

These puddings may also be boiled in cloths (many 
consider thera lighter so boiled). Scald and flour a 
square of muslin for each; lay it in a large bowl; pour 
the pudding mixture in, tie it up closely as you would 
dumplings, and boil six hours for a quart pudding, and 
an hour and half the day used. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

PIES AND TARTS. 

In making either the American pie, or the English 
tart, remember to heap the fruit in the centre, leaving 
room for a groove round the edge. Before the cover is 
put on wet the margin, hut do not press the edges to- 
gether, all tlie pressure should come between the fruit 
and the edge — lay your forefinger round, pressing closely 
so that upper and under paste may adhere there, but 
leave the edges untouched; cut four slits in the groove 
you have made; see that they are open enough for the 
syruj) to boil into the groove instead of from the edges 
and out in the oven; as the pie cools the syrup runs 
back from the groove to the pie. See full directions in 
Chapter III, for Pastry. 

FLAKY CRUST FOR FAMILY PIES. 

South Kensington Training School of Cookery. 

Put one pound of flour in a bowl, mix with it a teaspoon- 
ful of baking powder, whip the whites of two eggs to a 
stiff foam, put them to the flour with a scant saltspoon- 
ful of salt, and make all into a stiff paste with ice-cold 
water (about one gill). 

Flour a board, turn the paste out on it; flour the roll- 
ing-pin, and roll it to a thin sheet. Divide half a pound 
of butter into three parts. Take one part and spread it 
208 



Fies a?id Tarts. 209'- 

all over tlie paste with a knife, dredge flo ir over it and 
fold the paste in three, flour the rolling-pin again, roll 
out the paste and spread the second portion of butter 
over it; fold the paste as before, roll it out and spread 
the third portion of butter. Fold it again and roll it 
to the thickness required for a joie — the third of an inch. 
This paste requires a quick oven. 

EN"GLISH FRUIT TARTS. 

These are made in oval deep dishes, with crust only 
lining the sides, not the bottom, giving more fruit and 
juice, and are preferred by those who do not like the 
heavy undercrust. 

CURRAi^T AND RASPBERRY TARTS. 

Cut long strips of '' rough puff paste " (see recipe) an 
inch and half to two inches wide, wet the sides of an 
oval dish, lay the paste round, pressing the sides not the 
edges — fill with three parts raspberries, one of currants, 
pour in a cup of water and one of sugar, wetting margin 
and put on a cover, observing directions (Pastry, 
Chapter III). 

CHERRY AJ^D CURRAN'T TART. 

Use three parts cherries and one of currants, unless 
you have regular cooking cherries, when the currants 
may not be necessary, make the tart according to direc- 
tions for raspberry and currant tart. 

BLACKBERRY TART. 

Blackberry tarts or pies are greatly imjiroved by 
having one-third apple added to them. Make as directed 
for other fruit tarts. 

Apple and all fruit tarts are made in the same way. 



2 I O Practical Recipes. 

APPLE PIE. 

Make some '* rough puff paste " (see recipe); roll half 
of it thin; line a pie-plate; peel and cut up some fine 
baking apples; fill the pie (see Chapter III). Grate the 
rind of a lemon or some nutmeg over it; put two table- 
spoonfuls of sugar, or more if apples are tart, and half 
a cup of water over it; roll out the rest of the paste for 
cover, the third of an inch thick, and cover as directed 
elsewhere. 

APPLE PIE, xo. 2. 

Make some very nice apple sauce — which must be 
long and slowly stewed till it is almost jelly; flavor with 
lemon peel and a little juice; line a pie-plate with 
*' rough puff" paste; cut some strijis an inch and half 
wide, lay this round the edge over the lining so as to 
make a double edge, pressing only the lower part of the 
strip; pour in the apple sauce, which must be cool; sift 
sugar over thickly; cut thin strips of the paste, twist 
them and lay them over in cross-bars; in every open 
square stick half a blanched almond if wanted orna- 
mental, or else after it is baked a saltspoonful of red 
jelly in every square opening. 

This pie may be made with any preserve. 

LEMON PIE, NO. 1. 

Beat two ounces of butter to a cream, if very salt 
wash it first, mix with it four ounces of sugar, a cup of 
bread-crumbs and the yolks of three eggs and one 
white, the grated rind of two lemons, the juice of one. 
Stir briskly and pour into a pie-plate lined with paste, 
bake in a moderate oven; beat two heaping tablesj^oonfuls 
■of powdered sugar with the whites of two eggs, make a 



Pies and Tarts. 2 1 I 

meringue and cover the pie with it; return to the oven 
to color. 

LEMON PIE, NO. 2. 

Two teaspoonfuls of corn-starch mixed with six of 
cold water; stir a scant cup of boiling water in it and boil, 
stirring all the while, just as you would make starch; 
when it has boiled five minutes, grate the rind of two 
lemons to it, add five ounces of sugar and the juice of 
the lemons, two ounces of butter, stirring the latter in 
one way till the mixture boils, then let cool one minute, 
beat in the yolks of four eggs the whites of two, stir 
well two minutes, then pour the mixture into two 
medium-sized pie-plates. Bake in a moderate oven. 

Beat the whites of two eggs with two heaping table- 
spoonfuls of powdered sugar, spread it over the pie 
when it comes out of the oven; return it, and let the 
meringue color lightly. 

LEMON PIE, NO. 3 (rICH). 

Take four ounces of stale cup or sponge cake, or the 
same quantity of macaroons, crumbled; squeeze over the 
crumbs the juice of three lemons, grate the rind of two; 
three-quarters of a pint of rich cream, or six ounces of 
butter beaten to cream, and a quarter of a pound of 
sugar; pour over these ingredients the well-beaten yolks 
of six eggs, and the whites of three; add a small pinch 
of salt and mix. 

Pour the mixture into two medium pie-dishes lined 
with rough puff paste (see recipe). Use the three 
whites left for meringue which spread over the pies. 

COCOANUT PIE, NO. 1. 

Line a dish with rough puff paste, pour a pint of hot 
milk (not boiling) over two well beaten eggs; set the 



2 1 2 Practical Kecipes. 

bowl containing the mixture in boiling water, stir it till 
thick, then take it out, and stir in half a cup of sugar, 
and either a cup of grated cocoanut, or a cup of dessi- 
cated cocoanut, with a teaspoonful of vanilla or the 
crated rind of half a lemon. 

COCOANUT PIE, NO. 2. 

Mix two eggs well beaten with a cup of milk and the 
milk of the nut, if it is quite sweet; take off the brown 
skin of the nut, and grate it as finely as possible; mix 
with it three tablesjioonfuls of bread-crumbs, three 
tablespoonfuls of sifted sugar, two ounces of butter 
beaten to cream, six ounces of Muscatel raisms stoned 
and chopped and the grated rind of a lemon; mix and 
fill the pies, bake in a moderate oven thoroughly. 

This also makes a good boiled pudding. 

SWEET PATTIES. 

Take a pound of fine puff or rough puff paste ; roll it 
the third of an inch thick, and cut with a biscuit cutter 
three rounds; put one on the other; then with a smaller 
biscuit cutter dipped in flour press on the top, cutting 
only one-third through. When you have as many as 
you want, glaze with white of Q^g ; bake them in a 
quick oven. These are the shells to be filled with jam 
or preserve, and will rise to three inches. Delicious 
patties are simply filled with thick cream twenty-four 
hours' old, sweetened, fiavored with vanilla and whipped 
till firm; when prepared as directed above, remove the 
centre piece of the patties, which is the cover, scoop 
oat the soft dough, leaving half an inch of crust ; put 
the cream or preserve in with a spoon, i)ile it high, and 
lay on the cover. 



Pies and Tarts. 2 1 3 

FRANGIPANI CREAM PATTIES. 

Prepare the pastry shells as directed ; take off the 
centre piece, which is the cover; scoop out the soft 
inside, leaving half an inch of crust, and fill with Fran- 
gipani cream, made as follows : 

One gill of cream, one tablespoonful of flour, one 
tablespoonful of orange flour water, two of brandy or 
one of sherry and one of brandy, mix and put in a small 
saucepan, boil till the mixture leaves the sides of the 
pan ; if it becomes thicker than very thick cream, add 
more cream or milk ; beat in the yolks of four eggs, six 
macaroons crumbled, four tablespoonfuls of sugar, the 
peel of a lemon grated and a tablespoonful of any can- 
died fruit, or ginger or citron, cut very fine ; set the 
saucepan in boiling water after the eggs are added, and 
stir till very thick; when cool it is ready for use. It will 
keep a longtime if put into jars and covered with but- 
tered paper. 

TARTLETS. 

As these need not rise so much, you can use the 
trimmings from patties to make them. EoU the paste 
quite thin ; double it without rolling it again, and 
cover patty pans with it, j^ressing the bottom as thin as 
you can, but not the sides or edges ; cut pieces of bread 
the size of the bottom of the patty pans and put one 
in each. Bake in a quick oven. When done take out 
the bread and put jam or preserve in its place. You 
may, when cool, if you choose, put a spoonful of stiff 
whipped cream on them ; or instead of the jam fill 
them with frangipani cream. In this case only let 
them color very lightly in the oven, and when filled 
with the cream return them to the oven to brown. 



214 Practical Recipes. 

OMELETTE SOUFFLEE. ( JULES GOUFFE.) 

The whites of six eggs beaten very stiff ; the yolks of 
three beaten four minutes, with three tablespoonfuls of 
sugar powdered, and one teaspoonful of vanilla extract 
or the powdered vanilla which is better; turn the whites 
on to the yolks and mix very gently, lifting the yolks 
as it were, over the whites till blended, yet not stirring 
them at all ; butter an oval dish — a soufflee pan is best, 
but an earthen or thick tin will do ; turn the mixture 
very lightly into it ; sift sugar over, and bake in a 
moderate oven till a golden brown. Serve instantly or 
it will fall. 

SOUFFLEE A LA VANILLE. (j. GOUFFE.) 

Put in a three-quart saucepan one quart of milk, 
keeping little of it out to mix with six ounces of flour ; 
when smooth stir the flour into the milk ; keep on stir- 
ring till it boils, when take it off the fire at once ; put 
in six ounces of sugar, two teaspoonfuls of vanilla joow- 
der or extract, and a pinch of salt ; break six eggs, add 
the yolks to the paste, one at a time, beating it well ; 
beat the whites very stiff, and add them \Qvy gently to 
the rest ; if quickly done, the whites go to liquid, and 
the paste becomes too wet. 

Bake for twenty minutes in a buttered pan. 

FLAMING OMELETTE. 

Break six eggs ; beat the whites and yolks separately ; 
add to the yolks one tablespoonf ul of powdered sugar ; 
stir whites and yolks lightly together ; put butter the 
size of an Qgg in a clean frying-pan, let it get hot and 
begin to boil ; then ])owv the omelette in ; lift the pan 
on one side for a minute, then let the mixture that is 



Pies and Tarts. 2 I 5 

not set, run over to the other side, detach the omelette 
with a spoon from the side of the pan ; when it is partly 
set, shake the pan gently back and forth to loosen it-, 
turn it half over with a cake turner; slip it on a hot 
dish, dust over with sugar, and jiour over it six table- 
spoonfuls of rum — warmed if the weather is cold ; set 
it alight and serve flaming. 

This omelette may be made as directed iii Part First, 
if preferred. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

DISHES FOR CHEESE COURSE, OR FOR SUPPER. 

CHEESE EOKDUE. 

Put in a small saucepan one tablespoonful of butter, 
one of flour ; stir over the fire till they bubble ; then 
add a gill of milk or cream (so far this is only very thick 
white sauce) ; stir to prevent burning ; when smooth 
stir into it three ounces of finely-grated cheese of fine 
quality, a saltspoonful (scant) of salt, and a tiny pinch 
of cayenne ; turn it when well mixed into a bowl and 
stir into it the beaten yolks of two eggs ; thoroughly 
whisk the whites of three eggs solid ; stir them in very 
gently the last thing. Butter a dish or tin which the 
fondue will half fill, as it rises very much ; bake till 
golden brown in a quick oven ; pin a liot napkin around 
the dish in which it is baked ; serve instantly or it will 
fall. 

RAMINOLES (SOYER). 

Melt one tablespoonful of butter ; add one of floor ; 
stir over the fire till they bubble ; add half a cup of 
water, stir in four ounces of cheejse grated ; stir till 
smooth ; remove from the fire ; stir in, very gradually, 
three eggs well beaten; have ready a buttered baking- 
sheet and drop the mixture on it in lumps the size of a 

walnut ; press each slightly on top ; brush them over 

216 



Dishes for Cheese Course. 2 I 7 

with beaten egg ; put a spoonful of grated cheese in 
the depression, and bake in a hot oven twelve minutes. 
Serve hot as possible. 

RAMAQUINS. 

Crumble a slice of stale baker's bread ; cover it with 
a breakfast cup of boiling milk ; let it soak a quarter of 
an hour in a hot place ; then strain off the milk but don't 
press it ; beat it smooth ; stir in it two ounces of butter 
which the warm bread will melt, then four ounces of 
grated cheese (half parmesan is best), half a teaspoonful 
of made mustard, half a teaspoonful of sifted sugar, 
half a saltspoonful of pepper, one of salt, as much 
powdered mace as will go on the end of a penknife, and 
the yolks of three eggs ; mix together thoroughly ; just 
before you are ready to bake them beat the whites of 
four eggs solid; stir them into the mixture; either have 
buttered paper soufflee cases ready to bake them in, 
or deei") patty pans lined with puff paste ; only half fill 
them ; they will take ten to fifteen minutes to bake in 
pastry, six to ten in paper. Have a hot oven and serve 
very hot. 

CHEESE STRAWS. 

Make some puff paste or ^' rough puff"; roll it out as 
thick as a silver dollar ; cut it in strips an inch and a 
half wide and four inches long ; lay a little rich grated 
cheese along the centre of half the strips ; then on each 
lay a strip without cheese, thus making a sandwich as 
it were ; brush each one over with the yolk of Qgg ; 
bake in a quick oven ; serve cold or warm, piled on a 
napkin, blockhouse fashion, with mustard and cress or 
parsley garnish. 



2 1 8 Practical Recipes. 

CHEESE CANOPEES. 

Cut some stale baker's bread into slices half an inch 
thick ; if you have a half-moon shaped cutter, cut them 
into crescents with it, if not divide into diamonds or 
any shape you please ; fry these a very pale brown in 
hot butter ; spread on each a little thin mustard, and 
over that a layer of ricli cheese ; season with a little 
salt and white pepper ; bake in a sharp oven till the 
cheese is dissolved. Serve hot as possible on a napkin. 

CHEESE FRITTERS. 

This will do to use up cheese that has become a little 
dry, although, of course, fresh would be better. Put in 
a chopping bowl or mortar three ounces of grated cheese, 
a dessert-spoonful of finely chopped ham (this may be 
omitted if not liked), three dessert-spoonfuls of finely 
grated bread-crumbs, a teaspoonful of dry mustard, a 
piece of butter the size of an Qgg ; a speck of cayenne, 
and the yolk of an ^gg beaten. Pound together with a 
potatoe masher or pestle till smooth and thoroughly 
mixed ; form the balls into paste the size of a walnut ; 
flatten a little, dip them into frying batter (see recipe), 
and fry a light brown (see Frying). They will take 
about two minutes to fry. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

SAUCES. SAVORY. 
ENGLISH BREAD SAUCE. 

The English serve bread sauce with most kinds of 
game, also with roast chicken and turkey. 

Take two ounces of bread-crumbs ; be careful there is 
no crust as the sauce must be very white ; put them in 
half a pint of rich milk, with six peppercorns and a 
medium-sized onion ; let them boil at the back of the 
stove ten minutes ; then take out the onion and pepper 
corns ; stir in a tablespoonful of butter; or two of thick 
cream if you have it ; stir till the butter is dissolved ; if 
liked, a suspicion of nutmeg may be added. Serve hot 
in a sauce tureen. Never prepare this sauce till wanted, 
as if it stands it will get pappy. 

BROWN SAUCE, OR ESPAGNOLE (SPANISH SAUCE) 

(gouff^). 

This sauce is one of the two sauces called by the 

French *' mother sauces," because these two sauces are 

the foundation of nearly all others. If you succeed in 

making them well, you can make the most dainty and 

most elaborate sounding French sauces which may 

frighten you to think of, yet which are very easy. 

For true Espagnole (I use the French name hero, that 

219 



2 20 Practical Recipes. 

when some book orders you to *^ take half a pint of 
Espagnole " you may remember the brown sauce you 
can make so easily is the identical thing) is required 
good stock or else glaze (see Chapter IV). 

Dissolve a piece of glaze the size of a walnut in half 
a pint of water, or else take a pint of strong soup or 
stock. Put into it half a carrot, an onion — both cut 
fine — a bouquet of herbs, and a lump of sugar ; boil 
slowly till reduced to one-half the liquid ; then strain, 
pressing the vegetables to get all the liquid out. Put 
in another saucepan one ounce of butter, and scant one 
of flour ; let them brown, stirring them to prevent 
burning ; when a light brown, pour the stock to the 
flour and butter and stir till it is smooth. This is 
Esj)agnole. If you have brown flour at hand a,nd use it 
instead of white, you will not need to wait for the flour 
and butter to brown. 

A SIMPLE AND QUICK BROWN SAUCE. 

Cut up an onion, put it in a saucepan with a tea- 
spoonful of butter, fry it brown ; put in two cloves, a 
stick of celery, or six celery seeds, a bouquet of herbs, 
and a teaspoonful of gelatine ; boil all in a pint of water 
till the gelatine is dissolved; take off the liquid and stir 
in it a large teaspoonful of Liebig's extract of beef; 
thicken Avith brown thickening, and put in half a tea- 
spoonful of salt. 

Remember, although good sauces always call for stock 
and this may sometimes seem to preclude the possibility 
of making them, there generally is in most families the 
means of making stock in the house — the bones from a 
roast of beef, or of a turkey or chicken, or even a leg of 
mutton bone, will all, or any, yield half a pint of stock, 



Sauces. 2 2 1 

taking care to break them up as small as possible; add 
to them a carrot, an onion, and a bouquet of herbs. A 
little arrangement is to be found at the best hardware 
stores for cracking up bones, which is a great economy 
in any family and would soon pay for itself. 

The following are a few of the sauces made from 
brown sauce, and which, solely on account of their 
name, I think, people living near the great caterers buy 
by the pint, at a very high price. 

BOllDELAISE (GOUFFE). 

Put half a pint of Sauterne wine in a saucepan, boil 
it down to one gill ; put a tablespoonf iil of chopped 
shallot blanched (see directions), or onion (a poor sub- 
stitute), one pinch of pepper, and a pint of brown 
sauce. 

SAUCE PIQUANTE (SIMPLIFIED FROM GOUFFe). 

Fry or stew half an ounce of shallot or onion chopped, 
in a dessert-spoonful of vinegar ; let it cook until the 
vinegar is all absorbed — be very careful about this ; then 
put it into three-quarters of a pint of brown sauce (to 
which you have added a gill of broth or water to allow 
for the boiling away) ; add a tablespoonf ul of chopped 
cucumber, and one of chopped parsley ; cook gently 
fifteen minutes. 

SAUCE POIVRADE. 

Dissolve two ounces of butter in a saucepan ; a car- 
rot, a turnip, an onion cut in two, also, if to be had, a 
shallot and two cloves, a sprig of thyme, one of parsley, 
a bay leaf, a little salt, and two peppercorns ; let these 
all fry until they are a nice brown, stirring them all the 



2 2 2 Practical Recipes, 

time; then add gradually a small cup of claret and half a 
pint of good brown sauce ; simmer gently ten minutes, 
and remove the scum as it rises ; strain and serve very 
hot. 

SAUCE ROBERT. 

Fry in a small saucepan three medium-sized onions, 
chopped fine, in a tablespoonful of butter ; stir them 
as they fry, till they are clear and brownish ; add to 
them half a pint of brown sauce and a wineglass of 
water or broth to allow for the boiling away ; boil 
twenty minutes and strain; then mix one teaspoonful 
of vinegar in a cup with a teaspoonful of mustard, which 
stir into the sauce and it is ready to use. 

BEURRE NOIR, OR BROWN BUTTER. 

Put two ounces of butter in a small saucepan : let it 
get brown, but not burn; when it is a good color let it 
cool slightly ; then pour in a tablespoonful of vinegar 
which you have made hot but not boiled ; heat both to- 
gether. If you want it for poached eggs it is ready to 
use, but for fish it should have a teaspooonful of chopped 
parsley added. 

BROWN^ THICKENING 

Under the name of Roux this is given on page 34. 
White thickening (Blanc) is on the same page. 

MINT SAUCE FOR ROAST LAMB. 

One tablespoonful of mint leaves, very finely chopped ; 
three tablespoonfuls of vinegar — if very strong, use one- 
third water, and a dessert-spoonful of sugar; mix two 
or three hours before using it. 



Sauces. 223, 

BROWN MUSHROOM SAUCE. 

Add to half a pint of brown sauce the liquor from a 
can of mushrooms and half of the mushrooms; stew five 
minutes. It is much improved by a glass of sherry, in 
which case the sauce must be allowed to cook down if 
it should be too thin. With the mushroom liquor and 
sherry, stock to make the brown sauce is not indispens- 
able, although a great improvement. 

Use with fillet of beef, or roast beef, steak, etc. 

TOMATO SAUCE (BLOT). 

Put in a stew-pan two ounces of butter, half a bay 
leaf, two peppercorns, a sprig of thyme, an onion cut 
up, a sprig of parsley, a dozen medium-sized toma- 
toes, and two wineglasses of broth or water ; stew 
altogether about an hour ; then rub them through a 
strainer ; put a tablespoonful of butter and a dessert- 
spoonful of flour in a small saucepan ; stir together 
till they bubble, then pour on the tomato juice and 
stir till smooth. 

WHITE SAUCES. 

When sauces are thickened with eggs, it is safer after 
they are added to stand the saucepan in another contain- 
ing boiling water, and stir it in that, until it reaches the 
boiling point; remember it must not boil or it will break; 
yet if it does not reach the boiling point, the eggs will 
not thicken. 

BUTTER SAUCE 

Is the foundation for several well-known white French 
sauces. It will be observed that the first step is always 
the same — equal proportions of butter and flour stirred 



2 24 Practical Recipes, 

together over the fire until the flour is cooked; then milk 
is added for white sauce, A'eal or chicken stock for bech- 
amel, water for butter sauce. On these foundations 
are several variations: eggs and oil make butter sauce 
into Hollandaise; mushrooms and eggs make it into 
veloute or allemande; a ghiss of white wine makes it 
poulette. 

When butter sauce, or white sauce is to be served 
simply, more butter may be added in proportion to 
tlie quantity of flour ; the butter will only make the 
sauce more rich, not thicker or thinner ; the flour 
should be one tablespoonful, or ounce, to half a pint of 
liquid. A recipe for very rich white sauce is given in 
the first part of this book. That sauce cannot be im- 
proved upon for instant use, but butter or white sauce 
made very rich^will break if left standing many minutes. 
The best proportions for a sauce that is to be kej^t hot, 
is one ounce of butter, one ounce of flour to half a pint 
of liquid. If wanted richer than this, stir in one or two 
■ounces of butter at the last moment. 

BUTTER SAUCE, SIMPLE. 

One ounce of butter, one ounce of flour ; put the 
butter in a small, thick saucepan, marbleized, or iron 
(never use tin for sauce); when melted put in the flour, 
.stirring it, let it bubble, stirring all the time till it is a 
fine yellow, it takes one minute usually ; then j)our in 
half a pint of hot water and a saltspoonful of salt. Using 
milk instead of water makes it a simple white sauce. 

ALLEMANDE SAUCE. 

One ounce of butter put in a thick saucepan; when 
melted add one ounce of flour, stir them, let them 



Sauces. 225 

bubble one minute; then jiour in — stirring all the while — 
half a pint of hot broth or white stock, or if you have not 
it, hot water and the liquid from a can of mushooms. 
Let it boil, take from the fire, wait a minute and stir 
in gradually the yolks of three eggs, a saltspoon of salt, 
a quarter one of pepper ; return it to the fire, stirring 
carefully; it must get to the boiling point, or the eggs 
will not be cooked, yet on no account boil, or it will 
curdle ; when it is off the fire, stir in a tablespoonful 
more butter. If it should be too thick, add a very little 
Ir'oth or hot water. 

SAUCE SUPREME. 

Make an Allemande as above ; add to it two table- 
spoonfuls of butter and three of stock ; stir, and bring 
it to the boiling point at once; squeeze in a few drops of 
lemon juice ; use at once. 

POULETTE. 

Make Allemande sauce and add to it a glass of white 
wine. If anything is to be cooked in it, as sweetbreads 
or chicken, leave out the eggs till last : they are some- 
times omitted altogether. 

CAPER SAUCE. 

To half a pint of butter sauce put a aessert-spoonful 
of capers — not chopped, it spoils the appearance — and 
a teaspoonful of the vinegar, a saltspoonful of salt, and 
a quarter one of pepper (white). 

BECHAMEL NO. 1. 

One ounce of butter put in a thick saucepan to melt ; 
add one ounce of flour, let them bubble a minute, stirring 
all the time; pour to it half a pint of hot strained white 



:2 26 Practical Recipes. 

stock which has been well flavored with vegetables; stir 
it and let it boil till quite thick — five minutes perhaps 
— then add a gill of very thick cream. If the stock 
^vas seasoned add very little salt, or the butter may 
have been salt enough. The stock used must be quite 
free from color or sediment. 

This sauce, so simply made, makes many delicious 
dishes ; any white meat can be warmed over in it, or 
it can be vised to mask boiled chickens or turkey. 
Pour it over them while hot ; and when cold it will lay 
over them like a white jelly, making a very elegant dish 
if properly and carefuly put on. The bird should be as 
completely and smoothly covered as a cake is with icing. 

BECHAMEL NO. 2, FOR FISH. 

Boil the bones and trimmings of fish (or else use a 
flounder for the purpose) in a quart of water in which 
you have a bouquet of sweet herbs, a bay leaf, a piece of 
•<jarrot, half a dozen peppercorns, and a small teaspoon - 
ful of salt ; boil till there is only half a pint of stock ; 
-strain through a cloth, and pour it on to a tablespoonf ul 
of butter and flour that have been cooked together, as 
for white sauce, stirring carefully ; when thick and 
smooth stir in a gill of cream ; use as a sauce for fish 
where directed. 

OYSTER SAUCE, WHITE. 

Open two dozen oysters, carefully preserve the liquor; 
stir one ounce of butter and one ounce of flour together 
over the fire until they bubble : pour the strained oyster 
liquor into a half-pint measure and as much cream or 
milk as will fill it ; make this hot and put it to the 
l)utter and flour, stirring all the while; when it boils 



Sauces. 227 

put in the oysters, leave tliem only till they are firm and 
plump ; when the edges begin to curl they are done ; 
add half the juice of a small lemon, a quarter of a salt- 
spoonful of pepper, and salt as may be required. 
This sauce is excellent with turkey. 

OYSTER SAUCE, BROWN. 

Make half a pint of brown sauce; add the liquor strained 
from two , dozen oysters ; boil together till of the right 
thickness (the oyster liquor will have thinned it), then 
drop in the oysters, let them simmer till the edges curl; 
take the sauce from the fire instantly. 

It is English fashion to send this sauce to table with 
beefsteak. 

SOUBISE OR ONION" SAUCE. 

Boil medium sized onions tender, chop them up 
quickly, put them into cold water while you make half 
a pint of white sauce, then put a half ^saltspoonf ul of 
white pepper in it; drain the onions, add them to the 
sauce, and if you have it, a little cream; let them cook 
together ten minutes and serve. 

If you have the white sauce ready when the onions 
are chopped, you need not throw them into cold water; 
it is only to prevent them getting dark in color. 

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE, (G0UFf£). 

Put in a saucepan two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, with 
a saltspoonful of salt, and half one of j^epper (white), 
let it boil down to one dessert-spoonful. Take it from 
the fire, add two tablespoonfuls of cold water, and yolks 
of two eggs beaten; put on the fire again, stirring till it 
begins to thicken (take care it does not boil); take it 



2 2 8 Practical Recipes, 

off the fire again, add a piece of butter the size of a 
walnut, stir till melted; replace on the fire one minute, 
take off again; put another piece of butter the same size, 
stirring until the butter melts and becomes incorporated 
with the eggs; replace again on the fire, do this until 
four ounces of butter have been used and the sauce looks 
like a thick yellow mayonnaise. Never add more butter 
until the last is thoroughly blended; and when you put 
in the third piece, put in a tablespoonful of cold water, 
to prevent it turning. 

You will observe that the whole process is very much 
like making a hot mayonnaise, using butter instead of 
oil; the reason for the frequent taking off and putting 
on the fire, is because the eggs must be at toiling point, 
yet not boil; after each fresh piece of butter, they are 
cooled; they must then be brought back to the same 
degree, if they were left on the stove the butter would 
oil. 

It sounds much more complicated than it is, and this 
Hollandaise is the one found in all fine French cooking; 
but it is not the one commonly used in this country and 
in England, which is as follows: 

DUTCH OR HOLLAKDATSE SAUCE (SIMPLe). 

Make half a pint of butter sauce as directed, then stir 
in gradually the beaten yolks of three eggs and two 
tablespoonfuls of oil, putting it in drop by drop just as 
you would for mayonnaise; when thick and smooth, put 
in a dessert-spoonful of lemon juice, a saltspoonful of 
salt, and half one of white pepper. Some mix with the 
lemon juice before adding it a teaspoonful of dry mus- 
tard. 

You will observe this recipe is simply a combination 



Sauces. 229 

of mayonnaise and butter sauce, and when cold can be 
used as a salad dressing by those who do not care for so 
rich a sauce as mayonnaise. 

GREEN^ DUTCH SAUCE, 

Is simply Hollandaise sauce with sufficient parsley 
juice to color it green. Pound the leaves of fresh pars- 
ley and squeeze the juice through muslin. Stir it into 
the sauce the last thing. 

MAYON^N^AISE. 

Stir the yolk of one ^.gg in a bowl for one minute, 
then add oil drop by drop, stirring all the time; when 
once the oil and ^gg have thickened, and taken an 
opaque creamy consistency, the oil may be put in more 
freely. Yet always be careful to see it well blended 
before adding more. 

When it gets very thick, add a few drops of vinegar, 
then more oil, till you have as much as you require; the 
vinegar must depend on individual taste; half a gill of 
vinegar is usually enough for half a pint of oil. Add 
salt and pepper last; many mix a teaspoonful of dry 
mustard with the ^gg at starting, but although a pleas- 
ant addition, it does not belong to mayonnaise proper, 
but to tartar sauce. 

N. B. — This sauce can be made more surely when 
bowl, Qgg and oil are ice cold; in warm weather make it 
in a cool room. 

TARTAR SAUCE, NO. 1. 

Make some mayonnaise, put into a bowl a tea- 
spoonful of dry mustard, mix with a tablespoonful of 
the mayonnaise till smooth. Add a tablespoonful of 



230 Practical Recipes. 

finely chopped shallots, a teaspoonful each of tarragon 
and chervil; mix all together, and add to the mayon- 
naise. 

TARTAR SAUCE, NO. 2. 

It is often difficult to obtain the herbs used in French 
tartar sauce — therefore this substitute is commonly 
used; a tablespoonful of finely chopped parsley, one 
dessert-spoonful of capers, one of finely chopped pickled 
cucumbers, and half a one of onion or shallot. Add 
these to half a pint of mayonnaise, or half to half the 
quantity. Mustard as in last recipe. 



SWEET SAUCES. 
ALMOND SAUCE. 

Take two ounces of almond paste, boil half a pint of 
rich milk, pour a little on the almond paste at first, 
to soften and moisten it. When it is well mixed with 
the back of a fork, pour on the rest of the boiling milk; 
mix a teaspoonful of flour with a little cold milk; pour 
this to the almonds and milk. Let it boil two minutes, 
remove from the fire, wait one minute, then stir in the 
yolk of an Q^gg\ stir altogether over the fire till it comes 
to boiling point. Add sugar to taste, and serve for any 
sweet pudding. 

HARD SAUCE. 

Wash half a cup of butter till the salt is nearly all out 
of it; then beat it, gradually adding a cup of powdered 
sugar; and the beaten white of one Q'gg\ when it is all 
very light and white, flavor either with a teaspoonful of 



Sweet Sauces. 2 3 I 

Tanilla powder or extract, or with a tablespoonful of 
wine. 

LEMOI^ SAUCE, (nEW YORK COOKIIs'G SCHOOL). 

One cup of sugar, half a cup of water, the rind (pared 
off very thinly) of two lemons, with the strained Juice; 
boil all together ten minutes; beat the yolk of three 
eggs. Strain the syrup, stir the the eggs into it, set 
the saucepan in another of boiling water, and beat 
rapidly till thick and smooth ; remove from the water, 
and beat five minutes. 

CHANDOT. CAREME's CELEBRATED PUDDIN'G SAUCE. 

Mix half a pint of sherry, with four ounces of sugar 
and two eggs well beaten in a bowl, which set in a sauce- 
pan of boiling water; beat rapidly with an egg-beater 
till thick and smooth. 

ENGLISH BRANDY SAUCE EOR PLUM PUDDINGS. 

A tablespoonful of butter stirred in a saucepan over 
the fire, with two teaspoonfuls of flour, till they bubble. 
Stir into them a gill of water and half a gill of brandy. 

POLKA SAUCE. 

Beat three ounces of butter, with a cup of powdered 
sugar, till they are very light and foamy; set the bowl in 
boiling water, make three glasses of sherry hot, add it 
gradually to the butter and sugar, beating all the time; 
do not cease beating till all are at the boiling point. 
Then serve with ice-cold polka pudding. 

VANILLA SAUCE. 

Quarter of a cup of butter, a cup of water, and 
one of sugar, boil together; remove from the fire, have 



232 Practical Recipes. 

two Qgg^ well beaten, pour the hot mixture to them and 
then stir together over the fire till thick; if you do this 
in a bowl set in boiling water, there is less danger of 
curdling the eggs. Add one teaspoonful of vanilla pow- 
der or extract and serve. 

FRUIT SAUCE. 

Sauce from fresh fruit is made by stewing the fruit, 
cherries, raspberries, etc., in an equal quantity of water 
and half a pint of sugar to each pint of water; when 
very tender, pulp through a strainer. It may be thick- 
ened with a little cornstarch if desired. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 
CAKES. 

SPOKGE JELLY CAKE. 

Beat three whole eggs ten minutes by the clock, with 
a Clip of sugar ; they should then look like thick cream 
beaten, a full cup of flour, and a teaspoonful of baking 
powder; spread on tins, and bake five minutes in a very 
hot oven ; the whole success of the cake depends on the 
oven. It is very like real sponge if right. 

Spread with jelly, or cream, whipped and flavored; 
put one layer on the other, and sift powdered sugar 
over. 

CUP CAKE. 

Beat a cup of butter, or one-half lard, to a cream, with 
two cups of sugar. Grate in the peel of a lemon, beat the 
yolks of three eggs, stir them in, then sift in three cups 
of flour, using just milk enough to make it a very thick 
batter; when the flour is in, whip the whites firm and 
add them, put in'a pinch of salt, and two teaspoonfuls of 
baking powder; bake in a buttered tin in a quick oven. 
I always keep a piece of cardboard (part of an old paper 
box will do) to cover over cakes the first part of the 
time they are in the oven; this prevents the heavy 
streak, that is sometimes caused by the crust forming 

before the cake has well risen. 

233 



234 Practical Recipes. 

PRUIT CUP CAKE. 

Make by above recipe, only have ready a cup of fruit, 
currants and citron or anything you like, well floured 
and made quite warm. Add them last, just stirring 
them in, and get the cake into the oven quickly. 

N. B. — Fruit put in without flouring it will sink to 
the bottom, so it will if put in cold, or if the cake is stir- 
red much after it is added. A glass of wine is a great 
addition to either of these cakes, 

SPONGE CAKE. 

Beat the whites of five eggs till they are solid, add the 
yolks to them, stirring very gently; grate the rind of a 
small lemon and squeeze in the juice of half. Sift in eight 
ounces of powdered sugar, and four of sifted flour, add a 
pinch of salt. Stir very gently after the flour is added, 
and only enough to mix it. Line a tin with buttered 
paper, and pour the cake into it; bake forty-five minutes 
in a brisk oven. Cover the cake the first half hour. 
When you take it out keep it from all drafts, or it will 
fall. 

POUN"D CAKE, (very RICH). 

One pound of butter washed in rose-water if you want 
it very nice; beat it to a cream with the yolks of eight 
eggs and a pound of sugar, add a glass of wine and one 
of brandy, with a tablespoonf til of rose-water unless the 
butter was washed in it. When very creamy, stir in a 
pound of sifted flour, and the whites of eight eggs, 
beaten to a firm froth. 

Bake in a tin lined with buttered paper; it requires a 
steady slow oven and will take an hour and a half; cover 
for the first hour. 



Cakes, 235 



FRUIT POUND CAKE. 



Make by foregoing recipe; but prepare a pound of 
very well cleaned and dried fruit, shake two tablespoon- 
fuls of flour through it, then sift out all that does not 
adhere. 

Make the fruit very warm and add the last thing. 

PLAIN ICING. 

Mix a pound of powdered sugar with the whites of 
two eggs, the juice of half a lemon, a dessert-spoon- 
ful of rose-water. Simply stir till smooth, and spread 
over the cake with a knife dijiped in cold water. 

FONDANT ICING. 

This has taken the place of the old-fashioned frosting 
except for plum or pound cake. To make it, see "Fon- 
dant," in the first part of this book, page 92. Melt the 
fondant by standing the bowl containing it, in a sauce- 
pan of boiling water and stirring it till it is like cream, 
taking care none of the water boils into it ; flavor 
and color as you please; spread it on the warm cake like 
other icing. 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Albert pudding 203 

AUemande sauce 224 

Almond creams 93 

Almond sauce 230 

Altering recipes Ill, 112 

Apple pie, No. 1 210 

" " No, 2 210 

Apple pudding, English 136, 201 

Asparagus, to boil G6 

Salad 197 

Soups 142,148 

Baba cake 86 

Small 87 

Syrup for 87 

Balls, egg 144 

Forcemeat 131 

Baked, black fish 155 

Blue fish 15J 

Tomatoes 138 

Batter bread 121 

Baiter for frying, a, la Careme... 59 

" " Provengale 60 

Batter fruit puddings 202 

Bechamel, No. 1 225 

** No.2 226 

Filet de sole en 151 

Beef 

Au gratin 75 

Beefsteak, to broil 60 

Stewed 175 

Boeuf a la jardiniere 74 

Breakfast dish of 78 

Filet, au Chateaubriand 49 

Filet roast 179 

Fritadella 81 

Miroton of 76 

Olives of 79 

Pseudo beefsteak 75 

Ragout of cold 78 

Salmi of cold 73 

Roast of 178 

Simnlest way to warm 77 

Stock 08 

Sirloin to make two dishes 49 

To warm a large piece 78 

To garnish 179 

Beets, cream of 148 

Beurre noir 222 

Birds, small on toast 193 



PAGE 

Biscuit, egg yn 

Quick 122 

Biscuit, glace a la Charles Dick- 
ens 85 

Biscuit, glace a la Thackeray 85 

Blackberry tart 209 

Blackfish, baked 155 

Blanc, or white thickening 34 

Blanch, to 133 

Bluefish, baked 152 

Boiling, Chapter on 65 

Boil to 

Asparagus 66, 136 

Cabbage 65, 136 

Carrots 137 

Cauliflower 135 

Codfish 150 

Pilet de sole 151 

Fowl 189 

Ham 65 

Lobster 198 

Meats 65 

Onions 139 

Peas 136 

Puddings 201 

Salmon 150 

String beans 136 

Sweet com 138 

Turkey 188 

Bordelaise sauce, Gouffc'8 281 

Bouchees de dames 88 

Brains, au beurre noir 159 

Braised, fowl 186 

Turkey 187 

Brandy sauce, English 231 

Bread, Chapter on 12 

Batter bread 121 

Baking 14 

Breakfast breads 119 

Cause of failure 14 

" of thick crust 15 

Compressed yeast 15 

Corn bread 120 

Crumbs for frying 56 

Dough to keep 106 

Pie, crust of 97 

Kneading of 14 

Oven, heating of 14 

Rules for rising of 14 

237 



238 



Index. 



PAGE 

Sauce 219 

Soufflee 20 

To set spongre for 13 

Breakfast dish 78 

Salad 200 

Brioche 18 

Jocliey Club recipe for 19 

For summer pastry 19, 20 

Broiling, General rules for meats eO 
Chicken 61 

Broiled prairie hen 192 

Partridge 192 

Quail 193 

Salmon 150 

Brown butter 222 

Flour 34 

Mushroom sauce 223 

Oyster sauce 227 

Sauce, orEspagnole 71, 219,220 

Eoux, or thickening 34 

Butter, brown 222 

Maitre d'hotel 32 

Montpellier 33 

Eavigotte 33 

Sauce 136, 223 

Cabbage, to boil 65 

Cakks 

Baba 86 

Bouchees de dames 88 

Cup 233 

Fruit cup 234 

Jelly 233 

Fruit pound 234 

Pound 234 

Savarin 88 

Icing for 92, 235 

Calf's brains, au beurre noir 159 

Head, a la tortue 157 

with Hollandaise sauce 157 

Tongue stewed 158 

Canopees of cheese 218 

Candies 

Chocolate creams 94 

Cream almonds 93 

Cream walnuts 93 

Fondant 92 

Panache 93 

Punch drops 94 

Simple French 92 

Vanilla almond cream 92 

Walnut cream 92 

Caper sauce 225 

Capon, to roast 190 

Cardinal salad 197 

Carp, stewed 153 

French mode 154 

Carrots, to boil 137 

Cones of 137 

Cases, for patties 170 

Cauliflower, to boil 135 

Soup 148 

Caramel for coloring 126 

Celeraic 54 



PAGE 

Celery seed for soup 106 

Celery cream soup 68 

Cheese canopees 218 

Fondu 216 

Fritters 218 

Straws 217 

Cherry pudding 202 

Chicken 

Boiled 189 

Broiled 60 

Cold 49 

Croquettes 162 

Fricassee 165, 166 

Fritters 164 

Kromesquis 164 

Patties 173 

Pie .-- 38 

Eissoles , 163 

Roast 48, 186 

Use of feet 48 

Preparation of 184 

Chops, breaded 161 

Christmas puddings 205 

Clinkers, to remove 107 

Cod 150 

Cocoanut pies 212 

Coloring 128, 95 

Company to lunch 44 

Cream patties 212 

Cream soups 148 

Croquettes of chicken 162 

Lobster 168 

Salmon 168 

Cromesquies or kromeskies of 

chicken 164 

Ofcoldlamb 75 

Croutons for garnishing.. 129 

Crumbs for frying 56 

Cup cakes 233 

Cutlets, veal 160 

Lobster 168 

Venison 195 

Cucumber and onion ragout 103 

Curac^oa, to make 89 

Curry 108 

Daube, to prepare meat a la 129 

Devilled meat 80 

Dishes without meat 103 

Dresden patties 173 

Dripping, to clarify 59 

Duck, salmi of 166 

Roast 189 

Dutch sauce, green 229 

Egg biscuit- 121 

Egg balls for soup 144 

Eggs fried in balls 129 

English apple pudding 201 

Brandy sauce 231 

Christmas pudding 205 

Fruit tarts 209 

Mock turtle soups 142 

Muffins 182 

Raistd pies 38 



Index. 



239 



PAGE 

Veal and ham pies 38 

Windsor pie 3G 

Entrees 

Calf's brains au beurre noir 159 

Calf's head, HoUandaise sauce. 157 

Calf's head, a la tonue 157 

Calf's tongue, stewed 158 

Chicken croquettes 16:2 

Fricassee, No. 1 165 

No. 2 166 

Rissoles 163 

Fritters 164 

Patties 173 

Kromeskies 164 

Dresden patties.. 173 

Lamb chops breaded 161 

Lobster croquettes 1G8 

Cutlets 168 

Patties 171 

Mutton chops breaded 161 

Oyster patties 17^ 

Salmi of duck 166 

Of cold meat 73 

Of game 166 

Salmon croquettes 168 

Patties 173 

Sweetbreads fried 159 

With mushrooms 159 

Simple dish of 160 

Veal fricassee 166 

Cutlets 160 

Variations 164 

Fire-bricks, to remove clinkers .. 107 

Family soups 141 

Feuilletonage 23 

Filetof beef 179 

Filet of veal stuffed 180 

With mushrooms or oysters. 181 
Fish 

Black fish, baked 155 

Blue fish, baked 1552 

Broiled salmon, caper sauce... 15u 

Carp, stewed, No. 1 153 

No. 2 154 

Cod, oyster sauce 150 

Halibut, caper sauce 151 

Filet de sole in bechamel 151 

Same fried 56 

Augratin 154 

Salmon, boiled, green Dutch 

sauce 150 

Smelts 154 

Fisherman's soup 145 

Flavoring 70 

Flaming omelet 214 

Flounders, to bone 56 

" as filet de sole 56 

Fondant 92 

For icing 235 

Fondu 216 

Forequarter of mutton 101 

Forcemeat, chestnut 131 

Oyster 132 



PAGE 

Sage and onion, for goose, pork 

aud ducks 132 

Veal 132 

Fowl, boiled ]89 

Braised ]86 

Roast 186 

Frangipani cream 213 

Tartlets 26 

French herbs 113 

Friandises 84 

Fricassee chicken. No. 1 165 

N0.2 166 

Veal 166 

Fritadella of cold meat 81 

Fritters, cheese 218 

Chicken 164 

Fruit, batter pudding 202 

Cup cake 234 

Pound cake 235 

Sauces 232 

Frying 

Batter for 59 

Provengale. 60 

Crumbing for 56 

Oil for 58 

To clarify fat for 59 

To test heat of fat 57 

Croquettes 163 

Filetde sole , 56 

Fritters 164 

Oysters 57 

Parsley 128 

Smelts 154 

Sweetbreads 159 

Galantine 39 

Game 

Epicure's way of preparing 194 

Grouse 191 

Partridge 191 

Prairie Hen 191 

Quick way to cook small birds 194 

Salmi of 166 

Small birds on toast 193 

Snipe 193 

Woodcock 193 

Venison 194, 195 

Garnishing 127 

Garlic 108 

Glaze 30 

To glaze ham, tongue, etc 32 

Gouffe's pot-au-feu 68 

Bordelaise sauce 221 

HoUandaise sauce. 227 

Omelet souffiee 214 

Soufflee a la Vanille 214 

Rules for ovens 27 

Grating nutmegs 105 

Gravy 29, 63 

Grease, to clear soup of 142 

Green Dutch sauce 229 

Green pea soups 149 

Hard sauce 230 

Haricot of mutton 175 



240 



Index, 



PAGE 

Hash 97 

Head, calves, Holland aise sauce 157 

" a la tortue 157 

Heart, beef 100 

Sheep's 99 

HoUandaise sauce, No. 1 ^'l'^ 

" No. 2 i.28 

Iced claret soup 149 

Icing plain 235 

Fondant 1 235 

Iced pudding, polka 203 

Queen Mab 204 

Iced souffl6e 85 

" alaByron 84 

Jelly cake 233 

Jellied fish or oysters 41 

Jelly for cold chickens 47 

Jelly from pork 31 

Kerosene lamps IO7 

Keeping meat 105 

Poultry 107 

Dough lOG 

Kensington, South, rough puff 

paste 109 

Kitchen conveniences 114 

Kreuznach horns 10 

Kringles 17 

Kromesquies (or Cromesquies) .. 104 

Of chicken 164 

Of lamb 75 

Lamb, cromesquies of 75 

Roast 180 

Lamps 107 

Larding needle 113 

Larding 129 

Leg of mutton a la soubise 52 

Boiled 52 

Roast 179 

Lemon pie. No. 1 210 

No. 2 211 

" rich, No. 3 211 

Pudding 203 

Peels 100 

Sauce 231 

To keep 105 

Lettuce salad 190 

Little dinners 50 

Liver, sheep's 98 

Lobster, to boil 198 

Bisque of 146 

Croquettes of 168 

Cutlets 108 

Patties 171 

Salads 190 

Luncheons, Chapter on 35 

Macaroni with veal 182 

Maitred'Hotel butter 32 

Management in small families.-. 47 

Maraschino, to make 90 

Marrow, from soup bone 98 

Mayonnaise sauce 2'J9 

With jelly 42 

Of potatoes 199 



PAGE 

Meat, to keep.- luo 

Salad 52 

Mephistophelian sauce, Soyer's.. 81 

Miroton of beef 76 

Montpellier butter 33 

Mock turtle soup 142 

Clear 143 

Thick 143 

Muffins, English 122 

Corn 121 

Mulligatawny soup 144 

Mutton 

Chops breaded 161 

Forequarter of 101 

Haricot of 175 

Neck of 101 

Leg of 52 

Roast 179 

Saddle of 180 

Mushroom soup, white 147 

Fillet of veal with 181 

Omelet 125 

Sauce , 223 

Powder 29 

Nutmegs, best way to grate 105 

Noyeau 90 

Omelet, easy 45 

French 124 

Flaming 214 

Ham 125 

Mushroom 125 

Oyster 125 

Soufflee 214 

Tomato i24 

Onion soup, maigre 103 

Onions stewed 1.39 

Spring stewed 139 

Sauce or soubise 227 

Ornamenting meat pies 37 

Ovens, Gouffe's, rules for heating 14 

Oysters 27 

Bisque of 146 

Forcemeat of 132 

In Jelly 41 

Omelet 125 

Patties 172 

Sauce, brown 227 

White 226 

To fry 57 

Ox cheek 100 

Partridge, to broil 192 

Roast 191 

Parsley, in winter 113 

Seed for soup 106 

To fry 128 

Pastry, Chapter on 22 

To handle 24 

Tablets' 26 

Flaky family paste 208 

Rough puff paste 169 

Pate roy ale fov soups 141 

Patty cases 17C 



Index. 



241 



PAGE 

Patties 

Cream "212 

Chicken 173 

Dresden 173 

Frangipani 213 

Lobster 171 

Oyster 172 

Salmon 173 

To fill 172 

Teas, to boil 136 

Soup, green 149 

Maigre - - 103 

Pies 

Apple pie, No. 1 210 

" No. 2 210 

Chicken, to eat cold 3S 

Cocoanut, No. 1 211 

" No. 2 212 

English raised 38 

Lemon, No. 1 210 

No. 2 211 

" No. 3 (rich) 211 

Sea 176 

Veal and ham 38 

Windsor 36 

Piqtfante sauce 221 

Plain dishes 174 

Poivrade sauce 221 

Potatoes, boiled 66 

Mayonnaise of 199 

Salads 54, 199 

Snow 45 

Soup, maigre 103 

To warm over 46 

Pot-au-feu 68 

Pot-roasts 99 

Potted meats 43 

Polka pudding 203 

Pork, for jelly 31 

Roast loin of 183 

Forcemeat for 132 

Poulette sauce 225 

Pound cake 234 

Fruit 235 

Poultry, to prepare 184 

To stuff 185 

Preparation of game 191 

Poultry 184 

Vegetables 135 

Prairie hen, roast 191 

Broiled 192 

Puddings 

Albert 203 

Apple, English 201 

Batter, with fruit 202 

Cherry 202 

Christmas, No. 1 205 

No. 2 206 

To mix 206 

General directions for boiled.. 201 

Lemon 203 

Polka 203 

Queen Mab 204 



page 

Troy 204 

Puffs, buttermilk 1:^3 

Puff paste 22 

Puff paste, rough 169 

Punch drops 78 

Q,UAILS 

Broiled 193 

Roasted 193 

Queen Mab pudding 204 

Quick biscuic 122 

Kasout, of cold meat 78 

Of cucumber and onion 102 

Ramaquins 217 

Raminoles, Soyer's 216 

Raspberry tart 209 

Ravigotte 33 

Recipes, to alter 111,112 

Remarks, preliminary 1-12 

On altering recipes.. 111,112 

On boiling 65 

On bread making 12 

On frying 54 

On garnishing 127 

On Ijitchen and servants 114 

On little dinners 50 

On luncheons 35 

On maigre dishes 104 

On management in small fami- 
lies 47 

On sauces and flavoring 70 

On soups 67, 140 

On table prejudices 108 

On true economy in buying 

meat 99' 

On roasting 62 

Rissoles, chicken, etc 163 

Rissolettes 25 

Roast 

Beef 178 

Capon 190 

Chicken 186 

Duck 189 

Filletof beef 179 

Fillet of veal, stuffed 180 

with mushrooms or oysters. . 181 

Fowl 186 

Goose 189 

Lamb 180 

Leg of mutton 179 

Loin of pork 183 

Loin of veal 183 

Partridge 191 

Prairie hen 191 

Quail 193 

Saddle of mutton 1^0 

Shoulder of veal, stuffed 182 

Turkey 187 

Veal with macaroni 182 

Venison 194 

Robert sauce 222 

Rolls, soufflee breakfast 120 

Fine ^|5 

Rough puff paste 169 



242 



Index. 



PAGE 

Eoux 34 

Koyal paste for soup 141 

Rusks -- 16 

Saffe and onion forcemeat 13'^ 

Salads 

Anchovy 1P7 

Aspai'ap:us 197 

Breakfast, Murreys 200 

Cardinal 197 

Celeraic 54 

Chicken 198 

Cold meat 52 

Lettuce 196 

Lobster 198 

Mayonnaise of potato 199 

Potato 19, 199 

Pork in 199 

Tomato, No. 1 200 

No. 2 200 

Yeal in 199 

Salamander, substitute for 112 

Salmi 

Of duck 166 

Of cold meat 78 

Of game 166 

Sauce 167 

-Salmon, boiled 150 

Croquettes 168 

Patties ]73 

Steaks broiled 150 

Savarin cake 88 

•Sauces 

Almond 230 

Allemande 224 

Bechamel, No. 1 225 

*' No. 2 226 

Beurre noir 222 

Bordelaise (Gouffe) 221 

Bread 219 

Brown, or espajmole 71, 219 

No. 2, simple and quick 220 

Brown thickening for 34 

Brown mushroom 223 

Brown oyster 227 

Butter, brown 222 

White 224 

Caper 225 

Chandot (Careme's) 231 

Enjili>h brandy ... 231 

Flavoring for 70 

Fruit 231 

Green Dutch 229 

Hard 230 

HoUandaise (Gouffe's^ 227 

No. 2 228 

Mayonnaise, No. 1 229 

No. 2 42 

Mephistophelian 81 

Oyster brown 227 

White 226 

Polka 231 

Soubise or onion 227 

•Supreme 225 



PAGE 

Salmi 167 

Tartar, No. 1 229 

No. 2 230 

Tomato 223 

Vanilla 231 

White thickening for 34 

Scotch scones 120 

Scones 120 

Sea pie 176 

Smelts, to fry 154 

Small birds, quick way to 

cook 193, 194 

Snipe on toast 193 

Sole, filet de 56,151 

SOUFFLEE 

a la vanilla 1.. 214 

Bread 20 

Iced :.-- 84 

a la Byron 85 

Omelette 214 

Rolls 119 

Soup bone 96 

Soups. 

Asparagus 148 

Gouffe's pot-an-feu, or beef 

stock for 68 

Bisque of lobster 146 

" of clams 146 

" of oysters 146 

Claret soup, iced 149 

Clear soup 140 

How to clear 140 

Clear vegetable 141 

Coloringfor 126, 67 

Consommee a la royale 141 

Cream of beets 148 

of cauliflower 148 

of celery 68 

of spinach 148 

Egg balls for 144 

Family soup 141 

French fisherman's 145 

Mock-Turtle, Euglish, clear... 142 

Thick 144 

Mock-Turtle, No. 2 144 

Mulligatawny 144 

Mushroom white 147 

Onion 103 

Pease, green 149 

dried 103 

Potato 103 

To remove grease from 142 

Vermicelli 140 

Spinach, to boil 138 

Sponge cake 234 

Sponge jelly cake 233 

Stewed tomatoes 138 

Carp, No. 1 153 

" N0.2 154 

Beefsteak 175 

Onions 139 

Spring onions 139 

Stew, Irish 174 



Index, 



243 



PAGE 

Stock, beef 68 

Veal 147 

Straws, cheese 217 

String beans, to boil 136 

To cut 136 

Stuffing for veal or fish 133 

How to stuff 133 

Sweet breads, to fry 159 

Stewed with mushrooms 159 

Simple dish of 160 

Sugar, to boil 91 

Tainted meat, to restore 107 

Tartar sauce. No. 1 229 

No. 2 2:^0 

Tarts, English fruit 209 

Blackberry 209 

Raspberry and currant 209 

Cherry and currant 209 

Thickening, brown or roux 34 

White or blanc 34 

Tomato, baked 188 

Omelet of 124 

Salad 2(10 

Stewed >8 

SaHce 228 

Tongue, calf's stewed 1.58 

Trussing, poultry and game. 185, 191 

Turkey, boiled 188 

Braised 187 

Roast 187 

Turnips, to boil 137 

Cones of 137 

Tutti frutti candy 92 

A^anilla almond cream 92 

Sauce 231 

Soufflee 214 

Variations on dishes 164 

Veal 

Cutlets 160 

Fricassee 166 

Loin roasted 183 

Roast fillet 180 



PAGE 

Same with mushrooms or 

oysters 18I 

With macaroni 18-4 

Stuffing for i3;;j 

Vegetables 

Asparagus 66, 136 

Cabbage 65, 136 

Cauliflower 135 

Carrots 137 

Onions 139 

Peas 136 

Potatoes 66 

Spinach 138 

Spring onions 139 

String beans 136 

Sweetcorn 138 

To cut vegetables 135 

To make strong vegetables 

milder 106 

To prepare 135 

Venison 

Cutlets 195 

Roast haunch of 194 

Steaks 195 

Sauce for 195 

Vermicelli soup 140 

Warming over. Chapter on 72 

What to do with the scraps 45 

Where to buy articles not in gen- 
eral use 112 

Why meat does not brown in 

cooking 62 

Why yon fail with bread 15 

Why it has a thick crust 14 

Why you fail in puff paste 22 

Windsor pie 36 

White asparagus soup 148 

Oyster sauce 226 

Mushroom soup 147 

Sauce, No. 1 71 

No. 2 223 

Thickening 34 



JUL 5 1900 



i 



HP- 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 488 



